One Year Later

COVID-19.

Simply uttering that makes many people angry. I know it sparks intense emotions in me, considering how poorly parts of the world have reacted to it. Regardless, SARS CoV-2, or COVID-19, has rocked the world’s stability. At best, it’s been a rough 13 months since The WHO declared it a pandemic. At worst, it’s been a nightmare.

Personally, though, COVID-19 has been an intense, mixed bag. Starting in late-March, I was furloughed from my courier job. Food was initially scarce, and general panic and anxiety skyrocketed. It quickly became a nightmare navigating basic essentials that I took for granted. I couldn’t even go shopping, lest I bring home the virus through fomites.

But it hasn’t been an entire loss. For one, I finally learned how to play Settlers of Catan, a game I was too scared to try. A forced staycation opened up opportunities I never thought possible, so I figured that was worth it. So I learned, even if I’m not the best anyway.

Two, I had many social opportunities online. Before April 2020, if you’d have asked me what Zoom was, I’d have scratched my forehead in confusion. After April 2020, however, it became my lifeline. Whether it was talking to colleagues from work, activities via social groups, or simply talking to friends and family, Zoom was the go-to platform. So much so that I even got a monthly subscription.

Three, my possibilities for skill expansion opened up. In the past 13 months, I’ve taken a novel writing course, joined a writer’s group, listened to various MasterClass lessons and completed an office administration course. I wouldn’t have done any of this without the pandemic. I’m not thrilled it had to happen this way, but I’m grateful.

Four, I wound up with a new job. In December I secured a position at a grocery chain as a lot associate. I, basically, am now responsible for scouting shopping carts from the parking lot, bringing them to the main entrance and spraying them for customers. It’s not my ideal job, I’d have preferred something at-home, but it at least got me socializing. And it gave me something to do outside of playing video games and watching YouTube videos.

And five, I’ve become a face-mask aficionado. Prior to the lockdown, I didn’t have masks in my wardrobe. Face-masks were something I despised, and I hated putting them on when I was recovering from a bad cold. Nowadays they’re not so bad. I’ve even built up a modest collection!

The pandemic has been a blessing and a curse. On one hand, it’s been the worst time for my tics and anxiety, both of which have been out of control. But, on the other hand, it’s shown how valuable everything I took for granted was. And as my community enters its third lockdown to combat the more contagious strains, I see that even more. I hope I’ll take that to heart.

Since this piece is a little bit short as is, I’ll end it with a poem I wrote after receiving my first Pfizer shot. Those who follow me on Facebook will have already seen it, since that’s where I originally posted it, but it’s to the tune of “Who Knows One?” from the Haggadah:

“Who knows one? I know one! One is for the pandemic, may it be damned forever!

Who knows two? I know two! Two is for both doses of the vaccine, one is for the pandemic, may it be damned forever!

Who knows three? I know three! Three is for the vaccine types available in Canada, two is for both doses of the vaccine, one is for the pandemic, may it be damned forever!

Who knows four? I know four! Four is for the four people who were in my household during this pandemic, three is for the vaccine types available in Canada, two is for both doses of the vaccine, one is for the pandemic, may it be damned forever!

Who knows five? I know five! Five is for the guests I had outside for my birthday last year, four is for the four people who were in my household during this pandemic, three is for the vaccine types available in Canada, two is for both doses of the vaccine, one is for the pandemic, may it be damned forever!

Who knows six? I know six! Six is for the major Chagim last year that I couldn't celebrate with extended family, five is for the guests I had outside for my birthday last year, four is for the four people who were in my household during this pandemic, three is for the vaccine types available in Canada, two is for both doses of the vaccine, one is for the pandemic, may it be damned forever!

Who knows seven? I know seven! Seven is for the average number of chapters I wrote in my novel before we had our table reads on Zoom, six is for the major Chagim last year that I couldn't celebrate with extended family, five is for the guests I had outside for my birthday last year, four is for the four people who were in my household during this pandemic, three is for the vaccine types available in Canada, two is for both doses of the vaccine, one is for the pandemic, may it be damned forever!

Who knows eight? I know eight! Eight is for the number of months that vaccines were in trial mode, seven is for the average number of chapters I wrote in my novel before we had our table reads on Zoom, six is for the major Chagim last year that I couldn't celebrate with extended family, five is for the guests I had outside for my birthday last year, four is for the four people who were in my household during this pandemic, three is for the vaccine types available in Canada, two is for both doses of the vaccine, one is for the pandemic, may it be damned forever!

Who knows nine? I know nine? Nine is for the months that I lost last year, eight is for the number of months that vaccines were in trial mode, seven is for the average number of chapters I wrote in my novel before we had our table reads on Zoom, six is for the major Chagim last year that I couldn't celebrate with extended family, five is for the guests I had outside for my birthday last year, four is for the four people who were in my household during this pandemic, three is for the vaccine types available in Canada, two is for both doses of the vaccine, one is for the pandemic, may it be damned forever!

Who knows ten? I know ten! Ten is for the months before Pfizer was made public, nine is for the months that I lost last year, eight is for the number of months that vaccines were in trial mode, seven is for the average number of chapters I wrote in my novel before we had our table reads on Zoom, six is for the major Chagim last year that I couldn't celebrate with extended family, five is for the guests I had outside for my birthday last year, four is for the four people who were in my household during this pandemic, three is for the vaccine types available in Canada, two is for both doses of the vaccine, one is for the pandemic, may it be damned forever!

Who knows eleven? I know eleven! Eleven is for the months last year that the economy was in peril, ten is for the months before Pfizer was made public, nine is for the months that I lost last year, eight is for the number of months that vaccines were in trial mode, seven is for the average number of chapters I wrote in my novel before we had our table reads on Zoom, six is for the major Chagim last year that I couldn't celebrate with extended family, five is for the guests I had outside for my birthday last year, four is for the four people who were in my household during this pandemic, three is for the vaccine types available in Canada, two is for both doses of the vaccine, one is for the pandemic, may it be damned forever!

Who knows twelve? I know twelve? Twelve is for the number of months this pandemic has been a global crisis, eleven is for the months last year that the economy was in peril, ten is for the months before Pfizer was made public, nine is for the months that I lost last year, eight is for the number of months that vaccines were in trial mode, seven is for the average number of chapters I wrote in my novel before we had our table reads on Zoom, six is for the major Chagim last year that I couldn't celebrate with extended family, five is for the guests I had outside for my birthday last year, four is for the four people who were in my household during this pandemic, three is for the vaccine types available in Canada, two is for both doses of the vaccine, one is for the pandemic, may it be damned forever!

Who knows thirteen? I know thirteen! Thirteen is for the number of months it took for me to finally get my first COVID shot, twelve is for the number of months this pandemic has been a global crisis, eleven is for the months last year that the economy was in peril, ten is for the months before Pfizer was made public, nine is for the months that I lost last year, eight is for the number of months that vaccines were in trial mode, seven is for the average number of chapters I wrote in my novel before we had our table reads on Zoom, six is for the major Chagim last year that I couldn't celebrate with extended family, five is for the guests I had outside for my birthday last year, four is for the four people who were in my household during this pandemic, three is for the vaccine types available in Canada, two is for both doses of the vaccine, one is for the pandemic, may it be damned forever!”

Let’s pray this ends soon, so I can go outside without worrying about getting sick!

Premiering Near You...

Last year, I wrote a piece about Mulan and how Premier Access was bad. In it, I mentioned the following:

“Perhaps I’m being cynical, but this is the kind of dystopian price gouging you hear about in science-fiction, the kind you’d read in a Phillip K. Dick novel or watch on the big-screen. It’s sketchy nonsense you’d expect in fantasy, not reality.”

I’m mentioning this again because I’d hoped it’d be a one-off. I’d hoped Disney would lose money, realize it was bad business and never repeat it. And for a while, it looked like that happened: Mulan underperformed, and Disney nixed it with Soul. Problem solved.

But then Raya and the Last Dragon, which I was highly-anticipating, was sent to Disney+ because the pandemic was still going. Sure enough, there it was again: Premier Access until June. Unless you wanted to wait, you were forced to pay $30 (or $35 in Canada) to watch it. And now Black Widow’s receiving that same treatment. Cruella too, though I’m not as interested in that one.

To be fair, it makes sense financially: Disney’s missing revenue by not having theatrical releases. Premier Access on Disney+, therefore, helps offset that. It also builds hype by making it elusive, like you’re getting something special. In that sense, it’s pragmatic.

But I don’t get everything else about this decision. For one, why charge extra on a service you’re already paying for? It’s the timed-exclusive, digital content model I hate with modern-day video games: you’ve already shelled out money for the product, why pay extra for missing content? Especially if it should’ve been there on day 1? Isn’t that self-defeating?

Two, why that much extra? Movie tickets aren’t that expensive, even in VIP theatres. And even if you’re trying to recoup revenue, that’s still ludicrous. Movies, even with concessions, don’t cost $35. I say that knowing concessions are a rip-off, as well as the reason behind them being so. If you want to convince me that Premier Access is worth it, slash the starting fee. You’ll get more of an audience.

And three, why only make this timed? I understand wanting to charge more, but go all-in if you’re being greedy. Better yet, slowly lower the cost as the weeks go on to keep the discourse going. That’d not only satisfy investors, it’d also ease concerns. As it stands now, this reads as pure greed.

That’s what bugs me the most: greed. I know Disney+ increased its yearly subscription fee to compensate for Star, but at least that opens its library to adult content. I can tolerate that. But charging extra for content that’ll be free in a few months? Does Disney think I’m a money tree?

I know Disney+ is a family-friendly streaming device, so parents will put up with this for the sake of their kids. This is especially true now, where the global pandemic has made theatregoing unsafe. I currently work in a grocery store and come into contact with lots of people, some of whom don’t follow proper protocol. I put myself at risk regularly, and I don’t have much of a choice there!

But I can’t imagine I’m alone on considering Premier Access extortion. It sure feels like it, especially given the aforementioned points. That it’s increasingly looking to be the case for Disney+ movies worries me. It worries me because of the dystopian implications that tag along with it.

Additionally, I’m concerned by the potentially negative ripple effects that Premier Access could create. I’m concerned that it could become so normalized that other streaming services might start using something similar for their exclusives. Like, HBO Max could’ve easily done this with Zack Snyder’s Justice League, especially since it’s a special circumstance. But they didn’t, and I’m glad.

Yet if AT&T or Netflix ever see the potential for money, and nothing’s ever off the table with that, we could be in for more of this financially dystopian nonsense. And that’s scary. It’s almost as if streaming services will do it because theatres are dwindling in popularity, so they can extort the masses who have fewer options for their “faves”. Streaming services also have the potential to become like digital-only gaming, too. We’re already seeing that with the dozens of services that are starting to pop up.

This goes back to a longstanding complaint I’ve had about digital content. On one hand, it’s easy, convenient and has relative ease of access. These are all benefits to ditching physical media, which is bulky, flimsy and limited in its usage. But at least physical media, for the most part, is reliable. At least I know what I’m getting upfront. I don’t have that certainty with streaming, and Premier Access is another reason why.

I guess there’s not much I can do outside of wait for titles I’m interested in to become regular movies on Disney+. That much I have power over, and I’m grateful. But that doesn’t mean I can’t be concerned and frustrated that Disney’s being greedy again. I shouldn’t be surprised, corporations aren’t my friends, but I can still feel that way about a megalith that gets bigger by the day. Because I do, and that worries me.

"Congratulations: You're Cancelled Also!"

I know I’m late to the conversation, but let’s talk Lindsay Ellis.

Before I go into why she’s a hot-topic, I want to make something clear: I like Lindsay’s videos. I liked them even when she was The Nostalgia Chick on That Guy With the Glasses, and she became a go-to on YouTube in the years since. She makes good content. But I don’t Follow her on Twitter, as I have no interest giving in to my darkest temptations. She’s like Bob Chipman in that regard: great content creator, lousy opinions.

A few days ago, Lindsay Ellis Tweeted two Tweets that made everyone roll their eyes. One of them was how Raya and the Last Dragon “ripped off Avatar: The Last Airbender” and shared much in-common with half of YA fiction in the last while. The other was that Soul was “a movie for pro-lifers”. Both times she received backlash, prompting her to do damage control and deactivate her account.

I missed a lot of this drama because of Passover. However, it’s been archived for anyone interested in verifying it. It’s also worth noting that, despite how tone-deaf the Tweets were, these weren’t in isolation. I know it’s not a 1:1 comparison, but Ellis, like Chipman, has a history of off-colour Tweets. Why these two were the tipping point, therefore, is beyond me.

Much discussion has surfaced in light of this about “BreadTube”, or “leftist video essayists”, and how obnoxious they are. Honestly, I don’t think it’s fair to generalize, since BreadTube isn’t a monolith. But I see the concern, as some of these individuals, like Shaun from Shaun Vids, have made me quite angry. And that much of BreadTube is “white and cis” is also valid, as it limits perspectives in the conversation on racism and bigotry.

What bugs me about this now, of all times, is that it should’ve been discussed sooner. Many BreadTube personalities have large social media bases, and they’ve had them for years. With that comes the responsibility to be socially conscious, as they can do much more damage than if they were small-fries. But I don’t have such a big fanbase, so what do I know?

This is usually where I’d make a statement about how there needs to be diversity of voices in this community, and how that’d help remedy the problem. And on some level I genuinely believe that. However, there are three problems that complicate this. The first is that even with minorities there are differences in life experiences. Even in the same communities there are differences in life experiences. No two people are alike, so getting an accurate sample of where the conversation should be steered requires multiple voices.

The second is that some minority voices are dishonest. There are bad-faith actors in every community, and they openly dilute the message. Expecting individuals to always be honest is the epitome of The Scotsman Fallacy. It’s also not helpful to the first issue, especially when it involves knowing who to weed out.

The third issue, and this is the most-crucial, is that minority voices, even well-intended ones, don’t always help steer social progress. Marginalized communities routinely step on and gaslight other marginalized communities, even though that’s not helpful in the slightest. For example, some of the most-frustrating individuals I’ve dealt with have been Muslim and non-Jewish black individuals who’ve assumed that because I’m “white passing”, my Jewish identity’s linked to colonialism and, therefore, isn’t worth anything. This isn’t to indict them as a collective, but it’s been a challenge.

Going back to Lindsay Ellis, I see the frustrations surrounding her through other e-celebs. I used to love Shaun’s work until he referred to Jewish critics of Jeremy Corbyn as “bitter Blairites”, even though Jews aren’t monolithic. I was partial to Jacob Chapman’s content until he used his trans and gay identities to gate-keep queer media. Losing trust in the people I respect is so commonplace now that I’m surprised when it doesn’t happen. That’s how much the internet’s ruined discourse.

Outside of that, while Ellis’s Tweets were indefensible, and her attempts at damage control weren’t any better, some of her critics were acting in bad faith too. Did she deserve criticism? I’d say so. Does she need to understand that her words have consequences? Again, I’d say so. But did she deserve to be harassed off of Twitter? No.

I can’t think of anyone who hasn’t had at least one bad take. I’ve made many, some recently. I’m a flustered speaker in real life, so I make comments that I immediately regret. Even online, where I have time to compose myself, I’ve gotten in trouble for not properly crossing my t’s or dotting my i’s. It’s inevitable.

I’ve also heard far worse from other individuals who haven’t been called out. I’ve seen bigger profiles than Lindsay Ellis say or type stuff that was equally/more-offensive and not get called out. Or, if they have, they’d have their fans pile-drive critics. Social media’s both The Wild West and Mean Girls in that regard.

I’m not saying we should forgive Lindsay right away, if at all. I’m not the one she’s harmed, so it’s not my place to demand that for her. Like with Noelle Stevenson, only those harmed have the power to forgive her. And even then, that doesn’t mean they have to trust her again. It also doesn’t mean she’s suddenly absolved of accountability.

That said, we should be cautious of how we rebuke her. Remember, criticizing someone is simple. I do it all the time! But it’s easy to do it when we’re busy doing what we’re critiquing, and that gets lost in mob outrages. If we’re criticizing someone, even someone vile, it has to be done in a way that we don’t stoop to their level. We owe that much to ourselves.

If anything can be learned from this, it’s that people can be really insensitive at the best of times. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to resume throwing darts at my hostages…

Mrs. NC-17 Doubtfire

Zack Snyder’s version of Justice League is out on HBO Max. I’d make a snippy remark about how that doesn’t change how I feel about him, but I can’t because HBO Max isn’t available in Canada. Essentially, I couldn’t show my apathy even if I tried. Still, I’m glad fans finally get the version of the movie they wanted…even if it’s 4 hours long.

I mention this in light of #ReleasetheSynderCut getting another movie thrown into the conversation. It was a comedy from the early-90’s, and it still has a fanbase. It also stars the late-Robin Williams. I’m referring to Mrs. Doubtfire.

Mrs. Doubtfire never interested me all that much, even as a kid. I’ve seen bits and pieces over the years, but, outside of watching a comedic great don a dress and fake a Scottish accent, it never appealed to me. Additionally, the “how do I keep my secret?” aspect had already done so frequently by then that it was boring and unoriginal. But even now the movie has awful attitudes about the trans experience, making it a joke that isn’t funny.

So yeah, no real connection. But that it was recently revealed that Robin Williams had improvised so many of his lines that there were four cuts of the movie, including an NC-17 one, is interesting. And with Snyder’s version of Justice League seeing the light of day, this NC-17 cut intrigues me. It’s not like the flood doors haven’t been already been opened!

I’m not sure what to make of this news. On one hand, the possibility of this actually releasing is no longer 0%. Justice League proved that with enough interest (and lots of complaining) we could get a Director’s Cut of any movie. You simply have to demand it, and voilà: release of the “true ” film. If it’s being asked of Suicide Squad, a movie that, like Justice League, was heavily-altered for theatres, then why not Mrs. Doubtfire too?

On the other hand, I don’t think I want an NC-17 version. Ignoring how past “Director’s Cut” releases of comedies have been really unsettling-see Wedding Crashers-an NC-17 rating of the film wouldn’t really have that big a market. Remember that NC-17’s the closest a movie gets to porn, and porn has a niche market. By taking a kid’s movie and making it “almost porn”, you risk alienating what gave it mass-appeal.

Also, do we need an NC-17 version of a Robin Williams movie? I know the guy loved improvising, and some of his outtakes in Aladdin are quite funny, but there’s a reason why not everything made the final cut. Length aside, some of his jokes wouldn’t fly with theatre-goers because of how charged or offensive they are. Mrs. Doubtfire was a movie released in 90’s, when attitudes toward trans folk was still mostly deceit and/or disgust. This was the same decade that gave us the scene in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective where Ace makes police officers vomit because he reveals the antagonist had gender reassignment surgery and kept her male genitalia. With all that baggage, and especially given Mrs. Doubtfire’s premise, do we really want that?

I’m fine with a “director’s true vision”. I encourage it. But there’s a difference between telling the best story possible and understanding what doesn’t work. If George Lucas and Star Wars is indication, sometimes saying “no” to something is the right call. You can’t include all of your ideas and expect them to land, after all!

I get it: it’s tempting to see what we missed out on. I understand that, especially with a comedic legend like Robin Williams. I adored him as The Genie in Aladdin, constantly adding life to the scenes he was in. But part of what made that work was that, while many of his lines were improvised, the final cut knew what to keep and what to discard. Besides, you can always watch what didn’t make it on YouTube.

Perhaps that’d be a good compromise. Like with Aladdin, compiling the best lines and jokes from Mrs. Doubtfire that didn’t make it and including them as a bonus feature could be the right course of action. I know that’d mean being selective, but remember: this is Robin Williams. The man was famous for mile-a-minute jokes, so there’d never be a shortage of material.

It’s possible that I’m out of my league, or that I’m overthinking this. I’m not a marketer, so I don’t have my pulse on what’s appealing. I’m also not an expert, so take what I say with a grain of salt. But I do know art, being a writer myself, and I know that not every idea is a good one. An NC-17 version of Mrs. Doubtfire, as tempting as that may sound, doesn’t seem like a good idea to me.

Besides, I’d rather a Director’s Cut of something that warrants it, like Batman Forever. Make it happen, Warner Bros.! You know you want to!

Defending Ralph Bohner

By the time this debuts, WandaVision will be done for almost two weeks. It, therefore, feels both too early and too late to be discussing the final episode. However, because #SaveQuicksilver was Trending on Twitter, it’s still relevant. And yes, there’ll be spoilers. You’ve been warned.

So…Ralph Bohner. Simply uttering that gets some people mad, assuming they aren’t silently giggling. But even ignoring the name, I think the twist doesn’t get enough respect. This is a character who, through no fault of the show, was thought to be someone he wasn’t. The show turned him into a non-reveal, angering many and confusing some. And it’s brilliant.

Anyway, some backstory:

Back in the 80’s and 90’s, Marvel auctioned off film rights for their IPs in hopes of staving off bankruptcy. One of their most-famous, X-Men, eventually made its way to 20th Century Fox. Despite this, there was a catch: two of the X-Men characters, Quicksilver and Scarlett Witch, doubled as Avengers in the comics, allowing them to still be used by Marvel and Disney once The MCU became a juggernaut. Desperate to capitalize on this, Fox used Quicksilver in X-Men: Days of Future Past in 2014, while The MCU had both Quicksilver and Scarlett Witch debut in 2015’s The Avengers: Age of Ultron. To keep the licensing even-keel, Fox agreed to focus on Quicksilver, while The MCU focused on Scarlett Witch. Sounds simple, right?

Here’s where it gets complicated. While The MCU’s Quicksilver was killed off on-screen, for the longest time the two studios never mentioned their character’s dual-identity as a mutant and an Avenger. In The MCU’s case, Quicksilver’s death was never mentioned in future movies, instead focusing one the romance between Scarlett Witch (aka Wanda Maximoff) and Vision. To add to that, a few years ago Disney solidified its acquisition of 20th Century Fox, absorbing everything it owned from Marvel, including Fantastic Four and all of the X-Men, into it. This remedied the Fox/Disney dispute over Quicksilver and Scarlett Witch by making it a non-issue.

Enter WandaVision. Having been in production following the merger, the show had an interesting opportunity to work with this. And they did…initially…by having Evan Peters, who played Quicksilver in the X-Men films, return as a “recast” version of Wanda’s brother Pietro in Episode 5. That it happened right after Wanda and Vision’s argument, highlighting that Wanda’s hold on Westview was falling apart, helped; after all, like the episode’s opening suggested, they were making it up as they went along!

So yes, there was a new version of Pietro Maximoff, or Quicksilver, to throw shade at, opening the possibility of a “multiverse”. The possibilities were endless, right? Well, no. While The MCU has been guilty of franchise maintenance before, it generally prefers telling good stories. And nowhere was this more-apparent than the show’s finale, where Pietro was revealed to be an actor named Ralph Bohner under Agatha Harkness’s control.

While this annoyed many people, I thought it was funny and brilliant. Funny because I’m secretly 12 years-old, but brilliant because it advances the themes of grief and accepting loss that WandaVision excels at. I don’t say this lightly, either: considering the last time The MCU pulled a fake-out was with The Mandarin in Iron Man 3, and that I wasn’t a fan of it, that I think this is brilliant says something. Especially when I’m not a fan of wasted characters.

Let’s look at this reveal through my litmus test for good plot-twists. I have a theory that a good plot-twist fulfills two criteria: it has to make sense in the context of what came before it, and it has to progress the story in a logical direction. Fake-outs are no exception, as they’re also plot-twists. To that end, Pietro Maximoff being Ralph Bohner qualifies.

For the first one, it’s obvious. Aside from Pietro’s death having an effect on Wanda’s manipulation of Westview, it also makes sense: Wanda’s so unwilling to confront her trauma, so desperate to maintain the illusion, that falling for a fake version of her dead brother is in-line with that. It doesn’t matter that he’s dead, or that his “revival” gets poked fun at, because that’s a red herring. Essentially, she’s so grief-stricken that she’s willing to an accept an imposter version of her brother.

For the second, it’s trickier, but still works. Going off of Wanda wanting to see Pietro again, him being a dead end emphasizes the need for Wanda to move on. Remember, WandaVision’s about denying grief. Wanda created her sitcom reality to cope with the deaths of her parents, her brother and, more-recently, Vision. She also created twin sons for that same reason. Wanda wants all of this, but it’s not what she needs. She needs to move on.

In that context, Pietro being an actor is brilliant. Is it disappointing to all those who wanted an MCU/X-Men crossover? I suppose, though that was never the intention. Will it be walked back? Maybe, but I hope it’s walked back without ruining the thematic depth. But is it worth the vitriol? No.

It’s worth noting that unlike The Mandarin twist, it doesn’t actually drag down the story. I liked Iron Man 3 and thought the twist was funny, especially since The Mandarin in the comics is racist, but it felt like everything built-up prior had gone nowhere. Not to mention, the “real” villain was another generic baddie who shot lasers from his mouth. It may have fulfilled criteria #1, especially since said baddie was foreshadowed, but not criteria #2!

Essentially, Ralph Bohner’s The Mandarin fake-out done right. I love it, especially since it was surprising. Considering how “predictable” and “safe” The MCU has gotten since 2008, we could use more surprises. And no, HYDRA secretly being SHIELD doesn’t count, though that was also a brilliant decision. This is brilliant on its own, not because of any previous lore.

As a side-note, Ralph Bohner’s clever for other reasons. For one, despite the name, WandaVision’s show-runners clearly had Joey Tribbiani from Friends and Nick Moore from Family Ties in mind with him. Two, his first name, Ralph, is frequently dropped by Agnes throughout the show, indicating that there was foreshadowing. And thirdly, and this is personal, Ralph’s last name being “Bohner” is a tongue-and-cheek riff on how Quicksilver’s always been, and pardon the pun, a bit of a dick.

I get feeling cheated. You never want to cheat your audience. But too many people are making a fuss for the wrong reasons. The MCU gets enough undeserved criticism for flaws it doesn’t have. Having its fanbase act entitled over a well-written twist only gives detractors more fuel for their pyre. We don’t need that, especially not when we’re still trying to convince Martin Scorsese that The MCU is “high art”.

Now then, about The Falcon and the Winter Soldier…

House of TraumaVision

In June of 2014, I received a phone call stating that my father had a massive heart attack. Despite not grasping what’d happened until several days later, it still weighed on my mind. When I finally saw how serious this was, a pit formed in my stomach. For three months, whenever I heard my mother discuss the situation and start crying, I felt like the worst was yet to come. My anxiety also shot through the roof, and my appetite decreased. I was a mess the entire Summer, essentially.

I mention this as context for Disney’s newest MCU series, WandaVision. I’d been anticipating it for some time, especially given the numerous delays that arose due to the pandemic. Additionally, it was tackling a storyline that its lead actress, Elizabeth Olsen, had been looking forward to for a while: House of M. If she was excited, why shouldn’t I be?

Now, this’ll contain some light spoilers. I’ll try to be general, but some will still creep through. Also, my thoughts are subjective. In other words, don’t take them too personally. Lord knows that’s been a problem in the past...

Taking place shortly after The Avengers: Endgame, WandaVision follows Wanda Maximoff and Vision in the suburbs of Westview, New Jersey. Initially, they play out their “perfect” lives in a TV format, but it’s soon revealed that something’s amiss. Wanda has, in actuality, taken control of Westview, held its citizens hostage mentally, revived Vision and is using sitcoms to cope with trauma. Additionally, we start to understand, and sympathize, with why she’s done this. Ultimately, though, Wanda has to make a tough decision: should she live in her utopia at the expense of others, or give it up and lose everything?

I’ve never seen a David Lynch movie, of which this pays homage. I have nothing against him, but he’s never piqued my interest. I’m also averse to mind-trips that make you to suspend cohesion at the expense of narrative, which so many stories like WandaVision do. So while I was excited and interested in seeing this, with that came with some trepidation.

Fortunately, the show, while trippy, is grounded. Despite being a run through decades of sitcom history, we soon discover that Wanda’s avoiding her past. This is someone who’s witnessed her parents die as a child, her older brother die saving Sokovia and her lover die first at her hands and then the hands of someone who obliterated her from existence. She was also experimented on by The MCU’s equivalent of Nazis. She has issues that need addressing, but is instead retreating into her mind. Under normal circumstances, her takeover of Westview would make her the antagonist. But since we sympathize, that never becomes an issue.

It’s not like she’s absolved of consequences. We routinely see the damage Wanda’s causing, and it’s made clear that she’s wrong. Even Agnes, who’s later revealed to be a witch named Agatha, states that she’s been mentally enslaving people in order to live out her dream of being a housewife. So while she’s worthy of attachment, she’s not innocent. It’s a refreshing take in a world where antiheroes are frequently botched.

It also plays into themes of grief and coping with loss. Ignoring my dad and his near-fatal heart attack, I’ve felt my share of loss. We all have, and coming to grips with it isn’t easy. It’s how we deal with it, however, that matters. As Vision says: what is grief, if not love persevering?

And the episodes themselves? They range from good to great, though the homages are the best parts. I was born long after the TV sitcom boom, so I absorbed everything through osmosis, but I appreciated the references to past shows. I liked, for example, how the opening for Episode 2 paid homage to Bewitched with its animation, while Episode 6 riffed on Malcolm in the Middle. Even the in-show commercials fit their respective decades while simultaneously progressing the narrative. This is stuff you’d catch even if you aren’t an MCU fan, although there’s still plenty there if you are.

I’d like to call out the music. Written by the songwriters for Frozen, each of the opening themes, and the villain song that appears in Episode 7, are appropriate for their respective episodes and incredibly catchy. My two favourites are “The Wanda Samba” and “Agatha All Along”, but anyone can pick out favourites. Them all sharing the same, four-note leitmotif is a bonus.

There are other details that I really enjoy. I like that Kat Denning’s Darcy has something to actually do, something missing in the first two Thor films. I also like that Wanda defeats Agatha by besting her at her own game, while that Vision wins his fight with a philosophy debate. And while I’m not a huge fan of fake-outs, I thought the Quicksilver gag was funny.

That doesn’t make this show perfect, though. Not only was Monica under-utilized, but the secondary antagonist was another “generic bad guy in a suit”. I also found the climactic fight to be another “MCU explosion” battle that didn’t distinguish itself from other, better-executed ones. Oh, and the second end-credits scene revealed too much too early.

But those are all minor quibbles. The MCU’s gotten to a point where you can find better examples of its concepts in other stories, but also worse examples. It’s not a revolutionary take on grief and loss, but it does it quite well anyway. And it goes back to my piece about damaged heroines, of which Wanda qualifies.

Now then, about The Falcon and the Winter Soldier…

"Congratulations: You're Cancelled Too?"

I was a huge fan of Dr. Seuss growing up. Like Harry Potter, his books shaped my formative appreciation for books and writing. I can recite almost the entirety of Green Eggs and Ham, and that’s only one of his books! It’s safe to say that he holds a dear place in my heart, essentially. And it’s for that reason that writing this piece hurts.

 

A while ago I discussed Cancel Culture on The Whitly-Verse. You can find the piece here, but something that needs reiterating is intent. To quote myself:

“When someone’s ‘cancelled’, there’s a reason for it. And when the cancelling occurs, it’s to hold that person accountable. It doesn’t always stick, it rarely does, but it’s an attempt.”

I still hold that, but I didn’t factor in self-cancelling, if you can call it that. Because that’s what Dr. Seuss’s estate has done to six of their books and many of their comics. And let’s be clear: the estate did this, not a mob. This wasn’t an “orchestrated hit on a beloved children’s icon”. No, this was a committee deciding that some of his works were inappropriate and pulling them from circulation. This doesn’t mean you can’t buy them, but that they’ll no longer be printed.

I’m split, honestly. On one hand, Dr. Seuss’s work contains racist and dated stereotypes. This is the author who drew a Chinese side-character in yellowface. This is the same author who called attention to Tibetan characters’ eyes. And this is the same author who drew African characters as Black Sambo stand-ins. The man clearly had a history here, and it’s important to acknowledge that.

On the other hand, doing this is tricky. Not only does it act like there’s no merit to teaching these works in their historical context, it also acts like they have no merits on their own. Racist material can still have lessons to teach people, even if their racism is inexcusable. I should know, I loved the Harry Potter books!

Still, I understand why this decision was made. Dr. Seuss made harmful material that influenced decades of readers. Like Walt Disney, his work had an impact that’s still being felt. And like Walt Disney, he showed no remorse while alive. It’s only in death that both their estates have started doing course correction, with varying degrees of success.

This doesn’t mean this decision was a hit piece, though. From what I’ve gathered, this was a decision years in the making. The bodies of work in question, six books and a smattering of cartoons, had been scrutinized for many years. While it might’ve taken a while, clearly someone thought it was time to remedy this. It was a careful decision on the part of the wrongdoer, not on the part of those wronged.

I’m also tired of people assuming that whenever something beloved gets changed, removed or discontinued, it’s automatically “cancellation”. True, many pieces of consumerist art have content that wouldn’t hold up to scrutiny over time. I’d argue that all art’s like that, honestly! But when the creator, directly or indirectly, decides retroactively that that content’s no longer suitable for mass consumption, that’s not “cancelling” so much as introspection. It’s not unlike the debate to have “Baby It’s Cold Outside” play on the radio during the Christmas season, or pulling Mark Twain’s novels from circulation because they casually mention the N-word. Yeah, these works were a “product of their times”, but times change. And what might’ve been “acceptable” then might not be now.

Besides, “acceptable” varies depending on who you talk to. Blackface might’ve been “acceptable” to the upper and middle classes in Hollywood for decades, but to the marginalized, in this case black people harmed by Jim Crow laws in The US South, this was never “acceptable”. The Birth of a Nation was even so insidious in its use of blackface that it led to a revival of The Klu Klux Klan, which went on to lynch, harass and murder many black people. Art has ripple effects, regardless of what someone thinks personally of it.

Which leads me back to Dr. Seuss: is removing his works the best idea? I don’t know, I’m no art historian. Do I support it? Only partly, as I’m a fan of accountability in art. But do I understand why they were pulled? Yes I do. And is it “Cancel Culture”? No, unless self-cancellation qualifies.

A lot of the backlash is also rooted in bad faith. Much like the decision by Hasbro to change Mr. Potato Head’s name to Potato Head, pulling these works from circulation is calculated and not part of some “Democratic SJW agenda”. Because the world’s changing, and what was considered “acceptable” in the 1930’s isn’t necessarily in the 2020’s. That’s not an issue, it’s progress. And I’m sure more decisions like this will be made in the future, especially as more minority voices speak out on popular subjects.

Finally, I want to stress the difference between genuine remorse and retroactive remorse. Dr. Seuss never apologized for his work while alive, nor did he make attempts at reparation. It’s only decades after his death that his work is being re-evaluated. That’s the piece of the puzzle that’s being ignored here, and it shouldn’t. Because it’s important in the discourse.

I don’t like that Dr. Seuss was racist. I enjoy Green Eggs and Ham and The Cat in the Hat, and I think The Lorax is seminal in the discussion on environmentalism. I also appreciate that Hop on Pop led to The Berenstain Bears, as they also helped shape me. Like Harry Potter, I want nothing more than to enjoy these books the same way I did as child. But I can’t do that, because that’s being naïve. And part of being an adult is breaking free from that.

If it helps, at least this decision’s bringing awareness to more people. That’s always good, isn’t it?