In Defense of E-girls

November 4, 2021

E-girls get a lot of hate. The word “e-girl” has come to symbolize something cringey, overdone, and frivolous, the epitome of the immature, internet-obsessed, angsty teenage girl. Sometimes, you’ll hear it when a girl wears a slightly more complex black eyeliner, or when she happens to wear a black choker – pretty much anything slightly alternative or less mainstream. Typically, we think of the e-girl as wearing tights, skirts, striped shirts, garters, and collars, typically in shades of baby pink or black, a mixture of light childlike aesthetics and the darkness of the sex industry.

The thing about e-girls that probably gets them the most hate is the idea that by dressing in that style, e-girls sexualize and objectify themselves for male attention and validation. The word “e-girl” is derived from “electronic girl” and is heavily associated with amateur softcore pornstars on OnlyFans and Tik Tok – the word electronic referring to their purely online existence. E-girls were originally not girls at all, but online images reflecting pedophilic, fetishistic male fantasies. A good example is Belle Delphine, an internet celebrity who wore fake braces and childlike skirts and clothes while imitating sexual gestures and motions, most notably the “ahegao”, the exaggerated facial expression that girls make during sex in Japanese anime and manga. By playing into these sexual tropes, e-girls sought to fashion their online presence into sexy hentai characters.

Belle Delphine selling her (alleged) bathwater. Source image.

This was how e-girls became popularized. But in reality, people that adopted the e-girl aesthetic were not necessarily trying to become pornstars or even sexualize themselves. As e-girls became more popular and mainstream online, so did their aesthetic. While the origins of the e-girls may have been sexual, many people that began incorporating these dark and childlike designs into their own styles were probably just attracted to its separation from the mainstream, its underground origins, and its rejection of conventional understandings of propriety. And although the opinion that people fully have the right to sexualize themselves if they so choose is gaining more and more popularity, the e-girl aesthetic still received a lot of backlash for its erotic undertones and association with male weebs. In contrast to its twin Tik Tok aesthetic, the family friendly “VSCO girl”, who was typically wearing a baggy T-shirt and chilling on the beach with her Land Rover and her golden retriever, the e-girl was an outsider.

Similarly, to the scene and emo styles from the late 2000s, the e-girl called upon and mixed with previous alternative styles, even though it technically straddled the line between alternative and mainstream due to its popularity on Tik Tok. As more and more people began dressing like e-girls and creating e-girl related internet content, a subculture also grew to surround the e-girl, including themes of mental health and mental health awareness, anime, sexual deviance or promiscuity and homosexual behavior and angst. This new interpretation of the e-girl soon overtook the internet, superseding the original.

In fact, while the creation of the e-girl did come from male fantasies and catered to the male gaze, the new e-girl sought to create a sense of empowerment and solidarity for women within the confines of patriarchal expectations and beauty standards. One of the important things about the e-girl aesthetic, as well as most other alternative aesthetics, is that “natural beauty” is not necessarily a priority like it is in mainstream fashion. The VSCO girl, for instance, typically wears very little makeup and puts very little effort into her outfits, dressing simply and casually. This low effort look places far more emphasis on the natural features of the face and the body, thus benefitting thin white girls above all other demographics. (When’s the last time you saw a POC VSCO girl on Pinterest?)

Meanwhile, alternative aesthetics like the e-girl feature heavy eye-makeup and complex and intricate outfits, focusing on the artistic choices of the wearer rather than their looks. (This is not to say that white girls do not also have a chokehold over the e-girl aesthetic, but rather that POC’s probably have a slightly better chance here.) In this way, the e-girl is in essence more inclusive than the majority of mainstream aesthetics.

The inclusion of queerness within the e-girl subculture also made it huge within the WLW (women-loving-women) community. It’s a pretty well-known and common assumption that all e-girls like girls, even if it’s not true 100% of the time. This association with queerness may have come for two reasons: first, that queer people have always been heavily involved in alternative communities, due to the marginalization that queer people experience within the mainstream. Many may turn to alternative subcultures due to the community values of inclusivity and rejection of conventional standards and beliefs.

The second leads back to the e-girl’s longstanding association with the male gaze. This may seem kind of unintuitive, since the male gaze is probably the last thing that queer women want to have to think about. The reality of the queer female experience, though, is that most probably have to reckon with the existence and pressure of the male gaze all the time.

Apart from a lot of queer women being literally attracted to men, even those who aren’t or those in relationships with other women are still subject to the confines of patriarchal expectations for what a woman should be and look like. For instance, lesbians and bisexual women are heavily fetishized by men, and those who don’t appease the male gaze, like butch lesbians, are heavily punished by society, often called “ugly feminazis” among other things. As a result, it is still incredibly difficult for queer women to escape the male gaze entirely.

So although the e-girl evokes the aesthetic of appeasing the male gaze, it also represents a common struggle that the vast majority of women have gone through and can recognize and find solidarity among other women. Women and queer people are probably going to appreciate the effort and artistry of another person’s e-girl aesthetic far more than men who have less experience with makeup and feminine fashion. Thus, queer women subvert the e-girl from an object of male desire to a symbol of female solidarity against the male gaze. This total inversion of the e-girl transforms it into something entirely different from its pornstar predecessors.

So e-girls don’t just exist to appease the male gaze and also offer an introduction to a more inclusive, artistic expression of makeup, style, and fashion. That’s great! To be honest, I think all of these things are enough to defend its existence and support its values. But we also can’t take this all in the isolation of white feminism and ignore its blatant appropriation of East Asian culture. A lot of e-girl inspiration comes from anime and hentai, probably because e-girls seek to capture the cuteness and submissiveness surrounding the fetishization of Asian women in copying “Asian aesthetics”. In this way, the e-girl draws upon and reinforces the way Asian women are regarded as timid, exotic sexual objects. This is admittedly pretty problematic. It’s definitely possible to embody the e-girl aesthetic without actively playing into Asian stereotypes, but it is a little hard to ignore those racist roots. And, as with a lot of other trends in fashion, racial dynamics are an essential part of understanding the e-girl.

To be honest, this conversation isn’t really that relevant anymore because very few people actually say they’re an e-girl now. Plenty of other aesthetics have layered upon and replaced the once infamous e-girl, leaving it as a discarded remnant of late 2010s pop culture. But for all the controversy and viral trends that the e-girl aesthetic stirred up, its legacy endures in our views on the propriety of fashion, the sexualization of women, and what it means to be alternative, while its stylistic influences live on in current alternative fashion trends. Not to say that e-girls are some cultural behemoth like scene, grunge, or hippie styles, but at least in the scope of the past five years, understanding the e-girl is important in understanding everything that came after it.

A Vibrant Cacophony of Gecs

November 3, 2021

With the crisp of the morning air wearing off into sticky heat, thousands hovered on their computers, waiting for 10am. On that bright July morning, months of patience bubbled over after a hibernation of desires and rebirth of souls: it was a bright season of new possibilities, and concerts were on the horizon. Even with our greedy finger hovering on the mouse, the first round of tickets was sold out in seconds, but not 15 minutes later, and 100 gecs to spare, a late show, was released with enough tickets for the lot of us.

SOPHIE (left) and A.G. Cook (right) in a DJ booth performing at a club. Via

The cultural tidal wave started more like a puddle in the early 2010s, as hyperpop boiled and bubbled across motherboards and started to fill clubs with electronic beats that could give a schizophrenic cyborg a run for their money. It was a language made all the more beautiful by its pioneers like A.G. Cook and the late SOPHIE who demonstrated its ability to heal through hypnotically spunky violence. And recently, it turned into a movement that has lifted a disparate number of communities into auditory solidarity.

100gecs is masterminded by two wizards of the DJ booth, Laura Les and Dylan Brady, who are 20somethings with roots in the Midwest. Les had even been performing at house sets in Chicago only a few years ago. This primed the Windy City to pull up to throw down on October 21st, the first properly chilly day of a fall in this town.

Scores of youngins lined the street outside of Concord Music Hall, teeth chattering while chatting with friends and friendly faces around them. Some slurred their words of affection while others, pupils at both ends of the extremes, chain-smoked the night away. There was a familiar quality to us all, and our solidarity coalesced in a rebellious air as security tried to divide the screening by male and female. If you have ever met a 100gecs fan, you can guess that this failed miserably.

Twitter discourse surrounding the naive security via

The inside of Concord Music Hall roiled with anticipation as the groups made their last rounds to find friends who stumbled off and to position themselves better around the stage. For soon, the zones would devolve into a battleground of mosh pit, a danger for anyone who was standing close enough with concentric rings of dancers, bouncers, and swayers. At the late show, Aaron Cartier took to the stage to get the jitters out of the crowd and send us to a new level of intoxication as people consumed theirs. The bounces and sways with melodic rap lyrics brought everyone together and the venue rumbled as Cartier, a St. Louis native, shouted “CHI-CA-GO.”

Aaron Cartier

via Instagram

100 gecs

Dylan Brady in the foreground and Laura Les in the background. Via Instagram

Laura Les

via Instagram

100 gecs

Dylan Brady in the hat and Laura Les signing to the crowd. Via Instagram

This led to a flurry of movements, lasers, and blackout as a new voice, partially filtered through a modulator, took up the cry. The months of anticipation, the hours staring at the ceiling, and miles driving while blasting “fuck sleep and his cousin” rushed out of every living soul to create a singular mass. From there, the duo broke into their classics in richer, less altered voices than on the album, letting the smiles on their faces slip into the crowd’s ears. The performance was an intimate exchange of steam, foreign sweat, and rough shoves as we fought to stay standing. The crowd was a mob, willing to live by the sword and fight for Les and Brady doth they direct our energy.

My sanity and shoes unlaced by the time Les, who had been running around in circles on stage, took a break from singing through her hair and walked to the edge of the crowd. The crowd surged, squeezing me so hard that I had to look up at her, seemingly hovering above the throng. From this position she preached; I couldn’t tell you what song it was, but her ethereal voice lifted the bass that pulsated through her body. It was religious euphoria for her to pluck your worries and replace them with solidarity. She sang to herself and saved others like her.

The album cover teaser for 10000 gecs via

Les and Dylan disappeared for the night shortly after, but their performance was worth every penny, every second of waiting, and all the besties I lost to the crowd. It was ecstasy that no one in that crowd will lose any time soon. While their music won’t ever sound as raw as that night, those memories boost their beats and feed our newfound anticipation 10 fold as we await their upcoming album, 10000 gecs, coming to a streaming service near you early 2022.

"Songs for the Ladies" are Rappers' Secret Weapons at Verzuz

November 1, 2021

If you’re a hip-hop head or simply fascinated with the Verzuz phenomenon of reintroducing legacy catalogs to a global, mainstream stage, you probably watched the legendary battle between rap groups Dipset and The Lox. Verzuz has proven time and time again to be a game of strategy, not hits, and the organization of one’s setlist can make or break your chances of “winning” (as judged by social media, essentially, and by Twitter in particular). In Dipset’s case, their chances didn't break so much as shatter, while The Lox emerged victorious due to their meticulous curation, practice, and the vibes they gave off that said they all still genuinely like each other as human beings.

A high point in the battle was when Dipset’s Juelz Santana, riding high after playing chipmunk-soul laden hit “Oh Boy,” challenged The Lox with taunts about how they only had gruff street tracks, that they didn’t have songs for the ladies. The Lox, flexing their Bad Boy Records-taught A&R finesse, were more than ready to strike back and launched into a medley of their “lady songs,” like “Ryde or Die, B****” featuring Eve, Mariah Carey’s “Honey” remix, Jennifer Lopez’s “Jenny From the Block,” and Jadakiss’ slinky, Neptunes-produced hot girl anthem “Knock Yourself Out.”

A song for the ladies—simply as defined in these battles, not that all rap songs aren’t for ladies!—can be characterized as either a collab with an R&B chanteuse or simply a rap ode to sexiness: a song to grind to, if we want to be frank. Of course, the sociology major in me wants to spend years unpacking the layers of sexuality, race, gender, and culture all tied in up in these standards, but today I’d like to just dig into the subgenre itself.

Today, the singing rapper is a common phenomenon, New York is no longer the nucleus of rap, and so-called street rap has taken an extreme backseat in the music landscape. Today, nearly every rapper has romance in their catalog. But once upon a time, ODB declaring that he and Mariah “go back like babies and pacifiers” wasn't necessarily an obvious fit. And as legacy rappers take the Verzuz stage, a trend seems to be emerging and displaying how we re-evaluate music and shape music history in real time.

Songs for the ladies are often the silver bullet to winning a rap Verzuz battle—take Bow Wow, whose collaborations with Ciara and Omarion respectively on “Like You” and “Let Me Hold You” gave him the edge over Soulja Boy’s viral hits. There is a certain demographic—kids and teens in the early 2000s, but particularly Black girls—that can nail Ciara’s tongue twister of a chorus from “Like You” flawlessly, as if a million dollars was on the line. During the battle, Bow Wow cut the vocals and held out the mic and the ladies did just that (2:20):

I know I just said I wasn’t going to go all sociology major, but the skyrocketing of the nostalgia cache that “songs for the ladies” possess today says a lot about the last decade’s shift from gritty, regionally-specific rap to pop-focused styles and sentiments, and how gendered this shift is. This phenomenon is most clearly crystalized in Ja Rule—clowned for years over his corniness and “pandering” with his poppy, lady-heavy tracks, and his massive takedowns at the hands of 50 Cent and G-Unit hammered home this perception of him as soft and unworthy to be considered a titan of rap.

But today (Fyre Festival aside) he’s seeing a sort of Ja Ruleaissance, being reconsidered through the lens of today’s music standards that are poppier in nature and a direct legacy of his brief but massive run at the top of the rap game. He slaughtered Fat Joe at Verzuz, and the centerpiece of the entire battle was when both men flexed their fan-favorite Ashanti features. But Ja Rule continued with the knockouts via collabs like Mary J. Blige’s “Rainy Dayz,” “Between Me and You” featuring Christina Milian, and “Put it On Me” featuring Vita and Lil’ Mo, concluding with the killing blow of J.Lo’s “I’m Real (Remix).”

Why have songs for the ladies become sniper shots for rappers when they were once maligned for “selling out” into pop? Is it a symptom of our heightened cultural awareness of toxic masculinity? Is it a facet of the poptimist ideology currently dominating music consumerism and scholarship? Is it due to the current prevalence of women in hip-hop, and has this prevalence made hip-hop a slightly more open space for women fans, who are now finally able to have a voice in retroactively shaping the narrative of legacy artists? I’m inclined to choose d) all of the above. But this is more of a fun social phenomenon reflecting the cultural tide than a sign of true social progress in music, as Verzuz has a long way to go before it can be called a champion of women.

Featured image v i a

How to Take Care of Yourself <3

October 28, 2021

Fourth week is hitting me like a train. I skipped a total of four classes and survived exclusively on coffee, sweetgreen, and Nando’s. I tried to incorporate exercise into my routine, but I don’t even have the motivation to walk 20 minutes to class and opted for faster alternatives every time. I finally bought groceries after two weeks of slacking off.

If you are stuck in the same bottomless pit, hello, you are not alone, and I invite you to use this article as a general resource, words of affirmation, or simply a random person’s journal entry on self-betterment. I’m not telling you to just drink water or put on a face mask, even though they are very valid points to make.

I’m here to ask questions, for all of us.

Self-care is more than putting on a face mask.

Although I personally love face masks, drinking water, and whatever else Twitter tells me…

How is your sleep?

Some days, if not most days, you struggle to get out of bed. Why would you leave the comfort of your blanket when you can risk being late to class?

Now the real question is, how long were you using your phone before you finally decided it was time for sleep and reluctantly closed your eyes? Do you have a night time routine that helps your body relax?

Stretch before bed (or on your bed)
Read a book with warm / yellow light
Try Headspace, which is a great app that provides guided meditation, study beats, and white noise to fall asleep to

If you really struggle with having good quality sleep, consider taking melatonin or finding your preferred natural sleep aid.

Do you have healthy eating habits?

I use Noom to help me re-adjust my mindset (it pairs me with a wellness coach who tells me to drink more water lol), but here are a few things to keep in mind before your next meal.

Focus on your meal and don’t go on your phone or do your readings at the same time, distraction makes you overeat and doesn’t help with digestion
Grab food with a friend and ask them how they’re doing :)
If you live in an apartment, prepare a meal and enjoy making it
Treat yourself to a whole tub of ice cream when you feel like you deserve it — there’s no shame in occasional indulgences!

Are you feeling content? If not, what does “feeling content” mean for you?

I know, this is the age-old question that nobody has an answer to, but I asked my roommates (who are stressing about recruitment) for perspective.

V: What does “feeling content” mean to you right now?
H: I’ll feel content when I get a job.
C: I’ll feel content when I get a job and a boyfriend.
H: Okay, but I’ll probably just get fixated on the next thing. I guess it’s about not wanting more…

You will feel happy when the cute guy in your hum/sosc/maybe-not-civ ask for your phone number. You will feel happy when you land your dream internship. You will feel happy when you treat yourself to a new designer bag. Your happiness won’t last, because it’s meant to be temporary.

Here’s my Headspace quote of the day:

“In the pursuit of happiness, it can be easily forgotten that the happiness we seek is often found within pain and discomfort.”

— Headspace

Happiness is temporary, but contentment is a long-term mindset.

Now, are you ready to change your mindset?

Cover image via

Artists You Need To See Live, Post-Pandemic

October 25, 2021

What I miss most about pre-Covid era is being able to support my favorite bands in person and connect with other fans who share my passion for music. Inspired by artists scheduling upcoming shows, I have compiled a list of my favorite bands to see live!

Thirty Seconds to Mars

Thirty Seconds to Mars is the perfect show for every type of concertgoer. Whether you’re a diehard fan of the band or just want something to do on a Friday night, you’re bound to have an amazing experience at a 30STM show!
30STM is truly genre-bending in every sense of the word. They combine their most recent pop singles such as “Rescue Me” and “City of Angels” with their older punk hits like “The Kill” in a way that doesn’t feel forced. Meanwhile, Jared and Shannon Leto represent opposite spectrums in the fashion world: you’ll often see Shannon donning a Harley Davidson muscle tank while Jared is literally decked out from head to toe in Gucci apparel.
Most importantly, Thirty Seconds to Mars puts on a theatrical performance without sacrificing musicianship.

Muse

Muse concerts certainly have the best production value I’ve seen, whether it be high concept shows or more casual venues. Their latest tour for their album *Simulation Theory* immersed the audience in what felt like an AI dream. Somehow Matt Bellamy is shockingly able to maintain his insane vocal range and play guitar too (see “Knights of Cydonia”).

Don Broco

If you’re looking for a high-energy, no frills, small venue rock show, Don Broco is a must see. Their music is what I’d call “hype rock.” With bops like “T-Shirt Song” and “Everybody,” you’re sure to be dancing.

ONE OK ROCK!

If you’re looking to support an international band, I would definitely recommend ONE OK ROCK! They perform their English songs that you can sing along to but also their fast, heavier Japanese songs for a change of pace. It was also great to meet their diehard fans; I still remember someone screaming “takaaaa I love youuuu” after each song ended.

Mike Shinoda

Mike Shinoda’s show is great for concertgoers who are interested in or curious about lower profile rappers. Mike Shinoda was a member of Fort Minor (yes, as in “Remember the Name”). His new music, however, is focused on working through grief and his emotions following the passing of Chester Bennington, his bandmate in Linkin Park. Mike Shinoda provides a new and interesting perspective to rap which is definitely a must see.

Trivium

Trivium shows are not for the faint of heart. Be warned, if you’re in General Admission you will most certainly be squished by a sweaty crowd and forced to support body surfers making their way to the stage.
If this hasn’t scared you away yet, Trivium performances are truly a wild and exciting experience. Though I don’t love every song they play, I’m usually too caught up in the energy and adrenaline of the crowd to notice. If you want the full ~heavy metal~ experience, attend a Trivium concert at your local venue.

All images via Kaya Lee

Lil Yachty "Breathes Deeper" in Tame Impala Remix

October 20, 2021

one of the most unexpected collabs we’ve ever gotten,

this gives me waking up at 3am in 2007 [to watch] Adult Swim vibes,

and

I couldn’t stop laughing at first but it’s actually kinda fire

…are just a few of the top comments beneath the music video for Tame Impala’s latest release. While traversing hallucinogenic landscapes, frontman Kevin Parker and feature artist Lil Yachty rework “Breathe Deeper,” a sleeper hit from Parker’s fourth studio album The Slow Rush. Decked out in his finest Sun Ra threads, Yachty grooves to a technicolor bass line, carving out new dimensions in the subsphere of psychedelic rap.

It’s an odd pairing – Yachty’s “bubblegum trap” layered over Parker’s shoegaze synth riffs. But an alt-rocker and a rap legend find common ground in the disco stylings of Breathe Deeper’s production: ascendant piano chords that conjure Sunday mornings and 70s nostalgia.

In both sound and form, the duo embraces old-school tradition. Parker’s vocals are all but absent from the track, relegated to pre-chorus echoes as Yachty freestyles for three verses. Over buoyant melodies, he mines city skylines for psychedelic visuals; “Lookin' in her eyes, see the meadow // Lookin' at her lips, pillow kiss, it's the wet throat…She say she never been to the ghetto// Put her on the tab, turn thе hood to a disco.”

A haze of SoundCloud funk reverberates through “rooftop parties” and fleeting moments of vulnerability. “I hope when you said you love me, that you mean it,” Yachty intones as the outro swallows the last micrograms of his acid tab.

Lil Yachty’s “Breathe Deeper” remix is the lead track from The Slow Rush B-Sides, dropping in 2022. The tracklist features remixes from Blood Orange, Maurice Fulton, and Four Tet - along with new tracks “No Choice” and “Boat I Row.”

Album Review: Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land

June 14, 2021

Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land is a return to form for Marina, filled with the oddball melodies and sass that propelled her to become Tumblr’s sweetheart circa 2012. Where it may fall short on lyrical ingenuity, it makes up for in sentiment—an ode to the deepest of heartbreaks.

Cruella's Devilishly Remarkable Costume Design

June 9, 2021

Disney live-action remakes of animation films have come under the scrutiny of a vocal number of fans of the originals. Either from their uncreative approach at almost precisely copying the source material while adding nothing more than a little sprinkle of overcooked CGI and a pinch of Uncanny Valley to many more abstract or object-based characters like the Genie from Aladdin and Lumiere and Cogsworth from Beauty and the Beast, or from the movie’s blind faith towards recreating the magic of the animation instead of what makes the original films great, these motion pictures have received a lot of hate regardless.

This criticism is not particularly part of my experience. (I appreciate a lot of aspects of 2019’s Aladdin, including the Bollywood-inspired dance sequences and Jasmine’s new song and her portrayal as a princess who cares about politics, Agrabah, and its citizens, earning the position of Sultana, and 2019’s Lion King is a visual and technological marvel regardless of the “emotionless” character facial expressions.) Moreover, even if such opinions thrive in places like Metacritic, Twitter, and sometimes YouTube, box office numbers provide a whole new worldview to the vocally unbeloved motion pictures. As two examples, Beauty and the Beast made $1.26 billion globally, while The Lion King made $1.56 billion worldwide.

This more optimistic perspective to the live-action remakes where, in the majority of times, people keep on coming back for more, not unlike the MCU movies with the amount of money both franchises make with their hits and misses, partially proves that not everybody who watches a movie and enjoys it goes on social media to defend it, so the unilateral view presented about them on social media is not the only reality of the situation (even film reviewers have disparate opinions). That is a factor, amongst many others, people should consider when reviewing a movie’s performance above only believing in the words of the vocal majority. If someone does not like how Disney treats their live-action remakes and finds a community of people who agree, they can and should have their opinions, and Disney can learn from some critiques, but to believe that their views are the truth of the matter and that everyone else stands with them is misguided. Still, if you have either liked or disliked the movies, you are very much entitled to do so.

Controversy (and a touch of audience alienation) aside, the most recent episode of this “love it or hate it” franchise, rather a quasi-installment to the list of Disney live-action remakes, is Cruella. Actually, in my opinion, my little rant above was totally unnecessary for this post because simply put, Cruella falls considerably far away from the wardrobe of remakes, both in content and tone, so I may have just borrowed your time a tiny bit more than I should have. Oopsie. Either way, this The Devil Wears Prada-esque feature-length is more akin to a prequel than a remake (especially if you consider the 1996’s 101 Dalmation to be one of the first Disney live-action spins and that Emma Stone’s character is a past version of Glenn Close’s) and more closely resembles Maleficent in its focus on making a villain the protagonist.

The only manner in which Cruella could be called a pure live-action remake would be if, for example, 2019’s The Lion King was about how Mufasa and Scar’s father was a segregationist and dictatorial king against the Hienas, and Mufasa was congruent to such policies while Scar was a rebellious opponent of the marginalization of the species. Or maybe if 2015’s Cinderella featured an intricate Regency or Victorian-era love triangle between Lady Tremaine and Cinderella’s Mother and Father and how Tremaine poisoned Mother because the antagonist got impregnated by a husband she did not want to have due to an arranged marriage (Father was going to be her original match) and began to be increasingly afraid that the horrible husband would send Drizella and Anastasia away due to certain congenital conditions that made them look different. Hence, the only way for her to conquer Father back was to poison her miserable husband, inherit his fortune, and then kill Mother to get her out of the picture. But none of the situations described above are true, and I am rather having fun stalling the audience from the post’s actual content. Yet, it appears that with Cruella, a movie that is being compared with DC’s Joker in its depiction of a protagonist’s downfall into badness/madness, her appeal comes from seeing what made Estella become Cruella, a wholly original interpretation of such a character. Are we supposed to morally like the villains they come to become? Of course not, but at least Disney is adding a little more PG-13 spice into what makes their iconic villains both likable and “bad” with this film, which does precisely that with literal style.

Cruella seems to have appeased some critics that are calling it “the best live-action Disney update yet,” update being the keyword here since “remake” entails the unquantified modification of a plot in structure, characterization, context, and production, while “update” has a more varied tone to the number of narratives one can tell inside an already existing story (the end of the movie creates a direct reference to the original). Nonetheless, for those who still believe Cruella is a remake, the fact that it exists as very much its own thing years apart from the story in 101 Dalmations without many special effects has offset most, if not all, the criticism the remake-haters have about this Disney franchise. If somebody is to criticize the movie, they will now focus on its inherited flaws (if or when they find it) rather than the fact that it is trying too hard and failing at reproducing the magic of the original. Now, I have my own opinions about Cruella, but I will keep them separate so I can divert my attention to breaking down the undeniably gorgeous and highly stylish costume designing of the movie, one of its undoubtful highlights. This may sound inconsiderate and rude, but if a person left the film thinking that its costume designs are “average” compared to other movies in general, I am astounded at that person’s blind moxie.

The Undertaking

Two-time Oscar-winner costume designer Jenny Beavan is a master in her craft, and Cruella solidified her status as such even more. Previously working on Mad Max: Furry Road, The King’s Speech, A Room with a View, and on both installments of Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law’s Sherlock Holmes series, Beavan was contacted by Disney producer Kristin Burr to helm the project after helping her with 2018’s Christopher Robin, a movie that is in itself a unique spin on Winnie-the-Pooh. In an interview with Popsugar, Beavan mentions that after reading the script for the first time, the designer was doubtful is she would be able to take the movie on and that she started “everything — with complete terror, obviously, because it was so enormous.” Enormous such a creative undertaking was.

The main character and the antagonist had 80 costumes weaved for them combined: 47 for Estella/Cruella, played by Emma Stone, and 33 for the Baroness, played by Emma Thompson. For the rest of the principal cast, 197 garments were constructed. Even if these numbers don’t feel very magnificent, especially when you compare Daphne’s 104 dresses alone in Bridgerton (granted, it is a Netflix series with eight episodes in its first season), making almost 80 Haute-couture garments that are supposed to depict different levels of creative fashion designing, with varied shapes, colors, fabrics, cuts, and sewing skills, be unique in their own ways is sincerely astounding. The amount of variation found in the sketches sprinkled throughout Cruella alone is enough for a whole fashion show. But then, every time the Baroness appeared in it, she wore something different, highly fashionable, and sometimes even timeless, a result of her being, first, an aristocrat, and second, the head of her fashion label. To design 33 unique premium-looking garbs for one movie is to create and weave for a small portion of the celebrities from the Met Gala or an award show at once, and that is impressive. But then, the movie depicts around six major fashion events, and they all feature Haute-couture for both Cruella and the gala guests, perplexing me even more about how a group of fashionistas and seamstresses were able to come up with all the costumes for it.

I am going to skip over Estella’s garments (more subtle than her counterpart’s but still complex and fashion-forward) to highlight only Cruella’s and the Baroness’ in the following paragraphs, but I need first to stop and say that the work Jenny Beavan and her team put into crafting all of Cruella’s looks alone should be recorded in film history, preferably in a museum displaying all the original costumes. Now that I said it, let's talk about inspirations.

Rock & Vogue

Cruella’s story transpires in the British ‘70s, a time of rebellious countercultural movements marked by underground musical genres like hardcore and punk rock (Sex Pistols and The Clash come to mind) and alternative designers such as Dame Vivienne Westwood, who brought modern punk and new wave fashion into the spotlight. In an interview with Vogue UK, Beavan explains that the designer was one of the inspirations for the rebellious personality Cruella imbues into her work, together with BodyMap, an early 80s fashion label marked by their peculiar fashion shows and clothing with lots of prints and layered shapes, and Nina Hagen, an internationally renowned German punk and new wave singer known for her subversive sense of style (a combo between Madonna, Kiss, and David Bowie). In a virtual press conference for the movie, she further mentions Galliano and Alexander McQueen as part of her “mood board” inspirations, and the latter’s aesthetic, which Cruella’s director Craig Gillespie praised while talking to the LA Times for the “shock value of his shows and the creative outrageousness of some of his work,” heavily influenced how Cruella was visually portrayed and the way she planned her pop-up shows, even if McQueen found his label in 1992.

Moreover, the ‘70s were a time when what was in vogue expanded the expressive freedom of ‘60’s clothing, now featuring nipped, tight waists, exaggerated flared shapes, and more. Talking to Collider, Beavan spotlights Dior, Balenciaga, and other great ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s fashion designers (like Elsa Schiaparelli) as primary inspirations for the Baroness’ evolving aesthetic, after she “looked at the really high fashion of the period, particularly [on] Vogue,” a resource that is “very available online.” In the movie, the Baroness appears as a character with a style that I would call chrono-fluid, meaning that her sense of fashion does not belong to only one decade but rather exists in a fluid state between years. For instance, her closet pulls from the ‘50s and ‘60s aesthetics while staying fashionable 5 or 15 years later. Basically, throughout the movie, the Baroness wears both past and present designs from her label, and as mentioned before, Beavan looked into previous years to build the antagonist’s look, and because she has been in the fashion business for a long time, the character’s sense of style both exists inside and transcends the borders of time.

The ‘70s were the stylistic soul of Cruella’s fashion, primarily due to the visual aesthetic of the time as explored above, but Beavan also imbued the decade into the process of preliminary dressing and fitting of Cruella’s movie costumes. In the Vogue UK interview, writer Radhika Seth asked her if her team had sourced vintage clothes from London and New York. The costume designer explained that, like she used to do in her past — getting her clothes on vintage shops, especially on Portobello Road because she could not afford more popular brands like Westwood or Biba — Beavan and her team found different garments from London’s Portobello Road Market and A Current Affair fair on Brooklyn, New York City, to build the preliminary fitting outfits for Emma Stone by combining different garbs in a myriad of combinations until they felt suitable for her and the portrayal of Estella and Cruella. One of Braven’s main goals was to not overdue the already excessive ‘70s style because then the movie’s clothing could look more like a party costume than actual garments. Moreover, she did not intend to be entirely faithful to the ‘70s, so Cruella could still feel like a contemporary piece based on the past. In the end, even though none of the garments in the film were part of this vintage mish-mash of elements, rather being remade following the overall shape and image created by the preliminary costumes, the whole idea of taking vintage clothing and reshaping them reverberated into the narrative in Estella’s approach to creating Cruella’s outfits, especially Baroness’ red dress she wears for the Black and White Gala.

Cruella- Red Ravage

Now that the inspirations segment is done, onto the designs themselves. Approaching Cruella’s overall palette, Jenny Beavan mentions that the eponymous protagonist’s colors “were clear: black and white with some grey, plus the red for the signature moments” (and her lipstick). Such a scarlet moment arrives in the Baroness’ above-mentioned Black and White Gala, where the character of Cruella first steals both the movie and the fashion scene. Draped in a white silk robe (maybe charmeuse) with a black eye masquerade mask and her iconic black and white hair, Cruella makes her first fashion statement by setting it on fire (all special effects) to uncover her interpretation of the Baroness label vintage red dress in an event where people cannot wear color.

In the Collider interview, Beavan explains that she found a cheap red dress in a shop in Beverly Hills, and upon seeing it on Emma Stone’s body, she thought, “This could almost work, she looks so good.” However, because the fashion moments were dictated by the script, it already mentioned that the Baroness’s luxury fashion label once sold such a dress, so it could not look like an inexpensive gown. Thus, taking inspiration from Charles James 1955 Tree dress, an iconic 20th-century designer known for his fascination with exploring and conforming to body shapes and a highly structured aesthetic, the costume designer and her team decided to remake the gown they purchased before to match the story, where Estella would have deconstructed and reconstructed it with her imbued rebellious persona. In Beavan’s words, “The idea was that there was enough fabric in this dress, (...) that you could just about believe that she made it from this original work that she found.” The idea came from fashion artisan Ian Wallace, who also finalized its look.

Cruella-Unruly Highlights

Throughout the film, Cruella also appears briefly with highly creative and majorly fashionable gowns in what Beavan calls photobomb moments since they feature the protagonist stealing the entrance buzz from the Baroness in front of a big fashion event. For a fan of fashion, these consecutive scenes that display Cruella in her high-collar leather biker jacket, orange sequin pants, and black makeup spelling “The Future;” in her British General uniform-inspired blue and red coat with adorned epaulets with golden miniature horses and carriages, black and white crown, and large frilly pink and black train skirt; and in her newspaper bodice and garbage-patterned skirt, are quick snippets of inspiring splendor. Those photobomb moments, coupled with the rock runaway show in the moth dress scene where the protagonist dons a fake Dalmatian coat and skirt outfit, were thought of by Beavan as the antithesis of an average fashion display. Therefore, their revolutionary, energetic, punk essence, the opposite of Baroness’ ordinary and stagnant approach to fashion shows representative of tradition, inspired how the costume designs would look like, be reused, and shift, from leaning towards a more defiant look (motorcycle outfit) to moving into a more militaristic side as satire (British army coat) to going into a more fantastical side (the newspaper/garbage dress).

Kirsten Fletcher, a designer who sculpts fashion into art, was the fashionista Beavan’s team worked with to construct the three photobomb designs and many other costumes. Working at Shepperton Studios in the U.K., where most of Cruella’s garments were weaved and put together, Fletcher had to undertake the challenge of, in Beavan’s words, making “a skirt that you can A) climb onto a car in and, and B) you can swish around to cover up [the car]” in regards to the military/skirt getup. The skirt had to be the perfect weight for it to be light enough for Stone to wear but heavy enough to be swished around the Baroness’ vehicle and stay there. Beavan also mentions that they “did an original version with a more frilly [look], which looked fabulous, but it was too heavy,” so Fletcher and Beavan’s team had to improvise, and after some trial and error, they came up with an idea of layering the skirt with petals. Around 5,060 petals were hand-sewn into the costume by the group, which made it an optimum weight. Fletcher also gave a lot of input into crafting the garbage truck dress, one-of-a-kind, which Beavan states loving making, and Stone mentions as her favorite.

I could continue writing about the ludicrous and beautiful garments Cruella wears in the rest of the movie, but the Baroness will be left out of this post for too long if I do so. However, if you would like to know, my favorite outfit is the Cruella DeVil look Stone wears with the half-black (latex?) jacket, half-white (satin?) shirt after (spoiler alert) the Baroness is arrested. It is peculiarly empowering (should I say this?), simple in execution yet succinctly creative with the coat/shirt knitted design, and the perfect balance of white tints and black shades where Cruella’s darker persona overshadows Estella’s brighter side. Moreover, I appreciate that Cruella’s attire when moving into the “Hell Hall” has similar pointed shoulder structures to the ones seen worn by Glen Close’s Cruella de Vil, a subtle reference to a past film and a possible future. So, let us not waste more time and onto Baroness Von Hellman.

The Baroness-The Splendor of the Callous

While Cruella lives in the duality of black and white (splashed with red and grey), the Baroness dwells mostly on browns, golds, and some shades of black. As previously mentioned, she is slightly old-fashioned, having a taste that conforms to the 1950s and ‘60s fashion scene while simultaneously updating them to the ‘70s style, and many times with her, the difference between the concept of a gala dress and a day-to-day garment relies on subtle, yet apparent nuances in color, shape, and texture. She is so fashionable that the clothing she wears to go out often looks as close to Haute-couture as the outfits she wears in her events and galas. The Baroness is the definition of dress to impress. Partnering with costume maker Jane Law, who had previously worked on 1996’s 101 Dalmations and Mad Max: Fury Road with Jenny Beavan, the costume designer took a different approach to creating the prototypes for Emma Thompson’s fitting.

Because Beavan already knew Thompson from Sense and Sensibility and other previous events, she understood the actress’s shape, framing, style, and general behavior towards wearing the clothes Beavan designed for her. In the Collider interview, she explains that “Emma Thompson has a stunningly good figure and loves wearing clothes like this (...), which also brings something to the whole costume. Some people just stand in it, but she embodies it.” From this previous knowledge, the costume designer bought various fabrics that could work well with both Thompson’s poise and body and the ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s fashion aesthetic, giving preference to more sculptural textiles, “fabrics with a good stiffness and body to it.” Then, Beavan and Law would drape the fabrics directly in a mannequin to build the prototype. They would then decide if the prototypes were proper and which scene they would belong in and then call in Thompson to try it all. They aimed to achieve an “obviously asymmetric and very fitted, very snobbish” overall look, as Beavan mentioned in the movie’s virtual press conference.

At the same virtual event, Nadia Stacey, the film’s makeup and hairstylist who did a spectacular job with, in particular, Cruella’s different hairstyles and makeup touch-ups in every single new costume, explained that to conform to the sculpted look of the Baroness, Stacey ran with the idea “that she perfected her look, and everything is kind of variation on a theme.” That is why, throughout the film, the Baroness remains with the same general giant top knot bun hair (sometimes covered with a turban, other times loose, curled, or braided), and her makeup drives focus from her eyelids to her lipstick colors. While Cruella’s makeup and hairstyle constantly change to fit her costumes, where the audience sometimes sees her doing a Harley Quinn and painting her face white or playing with eye shapes and different lipstick colors and glossiness (my true lack of understanding of makeup artistry is showing here), the Baroness’ makeup and hairstyle are modeled to be constant to her personality; fashionable, yet rigid.

Finally, at the beginning of Cruella, the Baroness is hosting a ball for her 18th century inspired collection, a highly produced scene that feels more like a “blink and you miss it” moment more than anything. Such a mission to dress a whole room and the movie’s antagonist in highly tailored and fabric-heavy period clothing, especially ones influenced by Marie Antoinette’s outfits, should appear to be a massive undertaking. But it feels like, with today’s enormous interest in period pieces (Bridgerton, The Tudors, Outlander, Elizabeth, Marie Antoinette, The Other Boleyn Girl, Mary Queen of Scotts, The Favorite, Anna Karenina, Pride and Prejudice, anything related to royalty or Jane Austen, really), so many costume houses are specialized in period clothing from almost any century, especially those with the most amount of artistic evidence pointing to their fashion realities. Beavan mentions in the Collider interview that she was quickly able to find the right places that sell the period-accurate textiles and patterns and decided to combine them with “1960’s jewelry, hair, and makeup because people don’t normally do full 18th century [costumes].” Therefore, the costume designer felt it was both possible and doable to recreate the past and blend it with the present’s fashion aesthetic to form an opulent scene that, though brief, was still able to present to the audience that the Baroness was both a creative force and a highly wealthy woman.

Fashion is Art

Altogether, Jenny Beavan’s costume designs in Cruella are artfully conceived of, to say the least. Her masterful job in bringing a second life to the 1970s aesthetic in tandem with a more contemporary approach to conceptualization, visual impact, and the crafting process is what the designer excels at in the movie, creating time-appropriate garments that feel timely in Cruella and the Baroness’ bodies. If the movie’s costumes are not given an iconic status in the future — being nominated and receiving several awards, being featured in a fashion exhibition, stirring up some creative trends on the internet based on its looks — I would be shocked and a little disappointed. (Update: Between many accolades, Cruella won Best Costume Design at the 94th Academy Awards and Excellence in Period Film at the 24th Costume Designers Guild Awards). The level of creative input and fashion knowledge applied in coming up with Haute-couture designs that would fit Cruella’s chic and fashionable, yet insanely whimsical rebellious nature was sky high, and adding onto it the Baroness’ luxury label outfits may have set the bar up and opened up new possibilities for future designers to apply their grasp of fashion history, industry, and techniques and combine them with the forever growing creative power of artists in a world where art and design are highly accessible through the internet.

Accordingly, I am not surprised a Cruella sequel got greenlit by Disney. Executives seemed satisfied, audiences flabbergasted by the costumes, and the numbers spoke for themselves (not necessarily the box office ones since the movie is also watchable on Disney + Premier Access). Even though Beavan may not work on this sequel (this is not confirmed, only my own speculation) due to her not been very thrilled with Disney licensing clothing lines from brands like Her Universe and Rag & Bone based on her designs without her direct knowledge nor input of some kind, something that, interestingly enough has happened many times in movies before like Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey, Clueless, and Enchanted, her impact has been felt with vigor. I hope that, if Cruella II actually happens, the costume design is as unique as what Beavan created and that Disney justly treats designers by letting them know beforehand about marketing opportunities and working with them to craft the marketable items. In the same virtual press conference I referenced so many times before, Beavan said, “In fact, in my real life, I have no interest in clothes. I just love telling stories with them. So for me, that was just brilliant,” so I hope she continues telling more stories and inspiring future costume designers to do so. I, for one, am inspired.

Cover Image Via

Source: https://www.ign.com/articles/disney-cruell...

Fernweh~9: Venezuela

June 3, 2021

fernweh

/ˈfɛʁnveː/

farsickness or longing for far-off places

This fernweh visit will be to Venezuela with the accompaniment of Gabriel, a beloved friend from my old humanities class. From our two quarter long online classmate-ness, I have collected a couple of pretty vivid memories of Gabriel. One of them was at the end of the fall quarter, when Gabriel was presenting his journey away from his home to where he is now. A strong sensation of walking away from the arms of the people he once relied on. A rush of building the same shelter in a place he is a foreign of. Yet, there was no regret or any feeling that will evoke sadness within you. It was what had to be done at the time, you understand. I couldn’t relate more. I couldn’t relate more, indeed that, the next day, coincidentally, I talked about the people I call home (even though they are nowhere close to physically hosting me) and the attempts to strengthen my belongingness. Gabriel congratulated me from the chat box. At the time, I did not know that I needed that affirmation to not feel solitary. These feelings were shared experiences, he reminded me.

Now, I want to use this space to thank Gabriel by at least creating a virtual space that memorialises his home. I know that we carry a part of what we think we left behind. I hope fernwehs can help us share our emotional loads, forming a hub of homes…

Enjoy experiencing Venezuela as a home, from the perspective of Gabriel...

SK: What does it mean to you when I say “Venezuelan clothing”?

Gabriel: It means lightness; it means fresh; it means "NOT WINTER". In Venezuela, because of our geographical location, the temperature in the Capital ranges from 17 degrees to 30 degrees. The coldest temperature I ever experienced in Caracas was probably 14 degrees Celsius, and the hottest probably 36 degrees Celsius. I really miss that, and that is why when you ask me about Venezuelan cloth, the first thing that comes to mind is literally "the lack of"; the privilege of not needing to wear one thousand layers of clothing just to keep your body warm. As my grandfather, who lived in Spain the first nine years of his life, would say, "freedom from the subjugation of clothing" (in spanish: libertad del yugo de la ropa)

SK: How would you describe the traditional clothing in Venezuela?

Gabriel: Very similar to what I said before. In some cases, a blender of multiple cultures and traditions, and in other instances, purely or predominantly influenced by indigenous tribes. When I think about my traditional cloth, the first words that come to mind are nature, rhythm and music, unique elegance, and history of oppression.

SK: There is a positive correlation between the history and the clothing. Are there any specific historical challenges that the clothing was exposed to?

Gabriel: Yes, indeed. It would take me ages to explain the entire history, but long story short, after the Europeans slaughtered, transformed, and exploited all the indigenous tribes and native communities in Venezuela, wearing native's clothing became a sign of poverty, less class, ignorance, lower strata. It is really nice that nowadays native's clothing has a special place within certain commemorations or traditional days; however, it was not always like this (and Venezuela still faces big discrimination against indigenous-looking people and tribes; in short, racism).

SK: How would you describe today’s clothing? Are there any major contributions to fashion, such as designers, trends, labels, weeks…?

Gabriel: I am not a fashion expert, not even close, so I wouldn't be able to tell you. Nonetheless, due to the economic crisis that Venezuela has been facing in the past decade, our capacity to "export culture" and have a real impact in other industries has decreased exponentially. You should talk with older Venezuelans that may know more about this topic and who might have lived through the oil boom in the 80s and 90s

SK: In the other interviews, our friends mentioned that here some of the people have preconceived notions about their nations’ clothings. Have you ever experienced anything similar? Or, how do people perceive your nation?

Gabriel: Not really, People many times have "preconceived"worse things, like my intellectual capacities, or my access to food. I can only remember one old person that I, unfortunately, met in Spain who asked me with a very malicious tone, "do you still use 'taparrabos' in Venezuela?". Taparrabos is what indigenous people used to wear (or still wear) when they were in their native communities.

thumbnail image via

Drawing a Super

June 3, 2021

The text you are about to read is experimental in nature. This will be a first for me and maybe the only of its kind. If you know me and my writing, you have a general idea of my writing style and what I like to talk about, from poetry, TV shows, video games, and movies to the superhero and sci-fi genre (a slice of nerd culture) to sustainability and the future of fashion. The following post will stray away from the path I had laid ahead in the past, yet it will still feel like it is mine. I am still going to express my thoughts about fashion, and this time, I chose the superhero genre as my companion once more. But now, I won’t do research, highlight an interesting garment or accessory, or apply my sense of style to create a mood board look. No, I will let my creativity take hold. And if this is your first time learning about me, welcome to this weird new experiment of mine.

Publicly, I have only displayed my appreciation towards fashion in the written manner through the several posts in this blog, and I have enjoyed doing so for some time. Still, I have noticed that from time to time, MODA releases certain series like Andrew Chang’s Lookbooks and the yearly Designer Profiles that provide a spotlight to the personal skills and perspectives of MODA members that reside not only on the textual and metatextual but also on the visual as another method of communication. Despite the brevity of photography and sketches, such media can transmit ideas in so many poignant ways within one immediate space that they can recreate the argumentative power of most texts published in the blog. So, if you let me, I would like to move out of my comfort zone and show you, for the first time, my debatable 2D fashion drawing skills.

I usually don’t promote my drawings in digital environments like social media and blogs, yet because part of the reason I joined MODA was due to my love for fashion, conceptually, visually, and practically (drawing, not sewing; I have never tried), and since I have been here for more than six months, I decided that I could trust the people who work and read the blog to engage with my “artistic expression” in an appreciative or at least constructive manner. I have been drawing fashion croquis and illustrations for almost four years now, but I always really put attention into the sketching and digital illustrating process only during school breaks, so my evolution has been relatively slow. Still, I am proud of my latest illustration, and because I want to try something new on the blog, I would like to show you and explain to you how I come up with my own Super character. I have always entertained the idea of conceptualizing a comic book-worthy superhero/supervillain, down to their looks and story, so one day, when I felt inspired and I found time for myself, I decided to sit down and start the process, even if one step at a time. So, without further ado, here is Dark Cygnet.

Warning: Firstly, if you don’t care about superhero stuff and me going full-on comic book nerd, I appreciate that you clicked on this article, and I appreciate it even more if you took at least a minute of your day to check out what I designed. Secondly, you may have a better experience if you turn your screen brightness all the way up, move into a room without much direct light, and remove any filter you may have added to your screen, if only for just a minute. I drew Dark Cygnet with different shades of black, and the darker detailings may be lost if you don’t follow my suggestions.

Dark Cygnet without arm coverage. Image Via Me

Dark Cygnet with arm coverage. Image Via Me

And there she is (in two versions). Considering my evolution and the time I spent designing her, I loved the final product. Still, art is subjective, and I am a bit biased to myself. I know that I did not draw something that demonstrated an understanding of shading, lighting, or texture. I know that it may look less embellished than many fashion drawings from other people on the internet (and from people who work for MODA). You could even say that it looks too monotone and simplistic, even with the subtle details I spread throughout the costume. Or you may actually enjoy the piece as it is. Thank you either way. One day I may achieve a higher level of skill, but right now, this is what I got, and I am content with it. Drawing fashion is a passion of mine, so I will not stop trying to evolve my capabilities as an “artist,” even if it is only a hobby. Now that the swan is out of the lake (is this a good pun?), let me talk about my creative process before telling you who Dark Cygnet is. (If you don’t care about it, skip ahead. Don’t feel pressured to read the BTS details if you just want to get to the cool part).

I started conceptualizing Dark Cygnet in July 2020, a period in which the world was going through uncertainty and gloom. Like many, I sought a glint of light through entertainment, and for about a month, I decided to get to know more of DC Comics and Marvel’s superhero stories from their past comics and TV shows. I read and watched so much that my brain started to sizzle with ideas about new characters and storylines, and I began to annotate them on my phone as a way to further interact with these worlds being created in my mind. Then, one day, after I watched Black Swan, I started to ask myself if there were famous superheroes or villains with a ballet motif, and to my surprise, there were none (Black Widow knows how to dance ballet, but that has not been something of prominence in her stories for some time). I further researched if there were any super characters with a swan as part of their main traits, and I discovered that even if yes (DC’s Silver Swan and Black Swan and Marvel’s Black Swan), none of them had anything to do with the ballet or were too famous for fans to care. So, for about an hour, I decided to brainstorm ideas about a hero/villain inspired by Swan Lake, and when I was done, I knew that the next step was to transform the immaterial into visual.

Well, it took me six more months until I picked up the project back, but the idea never dropped out of my mind. I sketched my first croquis on paper while watching Brave New World (from experience, using pencil on paper to draw the first sketch is always a more intuitive experience, and I believe that pairing a visual cue with a manual hobby helps my creativity flourish), and after around three episodes (2 hours and a half), I had my first visual concept finalized. As you can see in the image below, I also spent time designing myriad forms of arm-shields that Dark Cygnet could use based on a grand jeté position, but when I tried to translate it to the digital version, the shapes and forms did not match with the overall look I was going for.

Then, I moved to the next phase, which was translating my design to the digital medium. My app of choice is called Prêt-à-Template, and yes, it is an app because I have always drawn on tablets (I used to sketch on my mother’s Ipad, but she decided that sharing it with me was too bothersome, but she still liked my fashion drawings enough to give me my own Ipad). That step took me a lot of time, around ten days of watching periods, so about 25 hours of playing with shades of black, creating sharp shapes, piecing together each part of Dark Cygnet’s “uniform,” and detailing her armor.

For some, that may feel like I divagated more than worked because my final product may appear less complicated than it should (I must say, some people can draw beautiful and very complex images in less than one or two day’s worth of work as a hobby or profession, and I applaud their skill). For others, 25 hours translates to a lot of thought and attention put into the design. I will admit, I am generally a person who draws slowly, and that is because I make a lot of mistakes while visualizing shapes, so I have to keep erasing and sketching until I reach the form I want to build upon. Either way, I try putting a lot of focus in creating the best overall look I can under what skills I currently have, and I also sometimes decided to change some details from my original croquis, which takes time and experimentation, but I enjoy spending my free time working on my digital sketches, so no harm, no foul. So yeah, what you saw before is the culmination of a considerable amount of time put into giving partial life to a character I developed almost a year ago. Now, it is finally time for me to tell you who Dark Cygnet is.

Odette Silberhaus is a very reserved, pure, naive, and kind woman and a dedicated and accomplished American ballerina. The Silberhauses, her aristocratic family, come from old money, and she has been running from them since she was a child. Their wealth and cultural interests lead her to start training ballet with several renowned teachers all over Europe from the moment she could walk, yet, due to the dark secret behind their power, her mother*, a decedent of another renowned family* with an unknown past, decided to run away with Odette when she turned 10. She continued to run away from the Silberhauses her whole teenage life with the new identity of Chiara Hoffman, learning different martial art styles worldwide to prepare her for an eventual conflict with them and because discipline and a perfect technique are also necessary for a ballerina to know, dancing being something Odette always loved and continued to enjoy even on the run. She never liked fighting, but Odette understood that the similarities shared between martial arts and ballet were apparent enough for her to accept her mother’s wishes and become a better ballerina. Her mother will eventually die on the run, but her past connections will aid Odette in secretly training both ballet and martial arts with teachers that, unbeknownst to her, are retired secret agents.*

*=unspecified for later purposes (appropriation of already existing characters or creation of new ones).

One day, during a presentation of Swan Lake with her company in a major city*, in which she played both Odile and Odette after years of studying both characters’ choreography and personality, a dream that she worked hard to achieve, a psionic blast from an unnamed supervillain* combined with the magical ultrasonic wail of another supervillain* while fighting a famous superhero* is fired into the theater and hits Odette while she is performing as Odile. The blast causes Odile’s personality to psychically merge with the dancer’s, resulting in Odette losing her own free will and control of her body, being pushed aside in her own psyche due to the character she created for Odile taking over her as the dominant ego, but still being aware of everything her body does and feels.

Unfortunately, the sonic-psionic blast is magical in nature, so it creates a blockade that prevents any known witchcraft and psychic solution from bringing Odette back. Moreover, Odile’s persona cannot be convinced by any superhero or person to become good because she is an already written character that Odette’s psyche made real, meaning that the evil personality will only think and act based on the boundaries created by Swan Lake’s libretto. Odette is on her own inside her mind, while Odile controls her body as a villain that psychically manipulates other people to believe she is their loved one (wife/husband, crush, girlfriend/boyfriend, even an ideal imaginary person) and exploits advantages that come with that (wealth, power, etc.), close to who Odile is in the ballet. However, the Silberhaus family may have had a hand in her creation, and they eventually hire her to become their dark agent/mercenary called Dark Cygnet, promising Odile the rightful position in the oligarchical board that leads the family.

Because of the sonic-psionic blast, Dark Cygnet received enhanced sonic perception and sensitivity, meaning that Odile can feel the vibrations around her (like Toph in Avatar and Daredevil, but she is not blind) to create a map of her surroundings that helps her, among many things, predict her opponent’s moves from the minor vibrations they make by initiating a strike. Also, she is physically enhanced by them, meaning that things like music or any vibrational wave can power up her strength, endurance, agility, balance, and cognitive capabilities. That means that she cannot predict the movement of others when multiple vibrations with high amplitude surround her, but she is still enhanced by them either way. So, there is a lot that can be done with Dark Cygnet in terms of fighting match-ups and dynamics since she can use music to power her up while stalling a fight (remember, she already knows how), and then she can put her visor on to help her increase her chances of predicting her enemy’s movements and winning the conflict.

Now, talking about her costume, Odile decides to create an armor that resembles her Swan Lake costume, but that is protective and looks more menacing. It is made out of a metal synthesized/crafted by the Silberhaus family that absorbs vibrations (like Vibranium) up until a limit of kinetic energy (unlike Vibranium), is very durable, lightweight, and flexible, and redistributes sound energy around Dark Cygnet’s body so she can get little boosts of strength, agility, and all the powers explained before when somebody hits or shoots her with other metals. Odile has a bulletproof headpiece/visor/crown covering almost her whole head, which she uses as a helmet, a vision suppressor to help her focus on the vibrations she senses through her body while fighting because it is made out of a material that cancels them (she also wears an eye cover below it), and a weapon and shield as it is also moldable. Dark Cygnet also has tutu, arm, and boot blades that make her very deadly, mainly when she spins while performing her new martial arts style that combines ballet and the other modalities she learned throughout her life (kong fu, tai chi, krav maga, boxing, karate, judo, maybe capoeira, but this part is still up in the air). And finally, her chest blades are retractable, so Dark Cygnet can detach them from her chest and throw them like knives or batarangs (featherangs?)

Still, if you think that Odile’s motivations are a bit shallow and that may make her a character without much depth, you may have a point. Her goals are not deep since Odile is a supervillain that comes from a preconceived script with little to no development rather than a real person, and she will never learn from her mistakes or understand and care for others’ feelings. However, I planned for this. Odile is not supposed to be a long-lasting persona. She is only part of Odette’s emotional development as an individual. You see, Odette loved superheroes growing up* and they were her escape from her complicated life, from existing under the vigilance and control of the Silberhauses to being constantly on the run with her mother, to having to take care of herself after her death, so Odile, being a character molded by a superhero lover based on the oppositive persona of the White Swan, would be inclined to become a supervillain.

Moreover, Odette created Odile as a character that channels all the negative emotions she felt throughout her life under her family’s constant control and punishment of her thoughts and actions (there is a lot that can be developed here), the desperation, sorrow, and loneliness she felt after her mother’s death, and the unpleasant things that may have happened to her in her ballet company. That amount of negative emotions created this cocoon that imprisons Odette, so the only way for her to break free is for somebody (the superheroes she idolized since she was a child) to trust in Odette’s good side to inspire her to strongly believe in hope, compassion, self-empowerment, and self-worth; to have faith in the person she was and always strived to be. It may take some time, (maybe inserting some twists about her mother’s true motivations and who were the secret agents that trained her can stall Odile’s eventual demise), but her arc would end with Odette becoming Cygnus and embracing Odile as a relevant part of herself, yet one that needs to be kept in check.

That is it. If you made it to the end, thank you. You spent your time reading something I created, and more than ever in this post, you allowed me to write almost 3000 words about something so personal as a supervillain costume I designed and the character’s back story. If you did not read everything and skipped some parts, I am still grateful that you stuck around for at least some time. In the end, this was an experimental idea I had, and I liked sharing part of my imaginative mind with you for the first time in my life. And if you liked what you saw and want to check more of my artistic endeavors, here is the link to my portfolio: Henrique Ankerkrone Caldas. Thank you again.

Cover Image Via

Manifestation: How to Make the Universe Your B*tch

June 1, 2021

Admittedly, I went off in this article about the cultural appropriation of manifestation. But, what actually is manifestation?

I’ll wager a bet and say that everyone has some or the other idea: basically, you ask the universe for something, and you get it. Well, the universe isn’t Aladdin and that’s not how it works––well, not exactly.

In Hindu and Buddhist spirituality, manifestation is not an ask-and-you-shall-receive system; it is based on a history steeped in belief, worship, and dedication. There are two terms you should know for this:

Karma: (I’ll wager another bet that you’re fairly aware of this, but I’ll do a quick recap.) Akin to a universal checking account. You do well, you are done well to; you do badly, you are done badly to. We reap the results of our actions, and these hold us accountable to not just our current selves but also to our future selves (rebirth is governed by karma). TLDR; cause and effect.

Dharma: The less popular twin, but essentially means your purpose in life. You can let this lead you down the existentialist crisis of wondering what it is, but you can also disseminate it into its smallest pieces: on a day-to-day, hour-to-hour basis, what is your purpose? And if your purpose is to serve yourself, to be happy, that counts. No purpose is too small, but it is also of spiritual value to figure out your larger purpose through self-discovery.

Combined, they yield the Hindu ideology of universal welfare, a system in which the universe benefits from you achieving your dharma, and through karma, the universe benefits you. This whole concept is the actual Law of Attraction, as proposed by the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads. (If only all those pandits and yogis could summarize that well, eesh.)

As Lord Krishna says, ultimately you are the Universe––or at least, that you create your own universe, your own reality. The things you attract come to you, and the things you repel don’t. A simple example: If you’re the kind of person who’s always asking for “friends who do xyz,” and instead, you become the friend that “does xyz,” you attract more people like yourself and therefore, you will have friends “who do xyz.” “xyz” can be anything: who dress fashionably, who party less, who work out more, who decide to go vegan, who love art museums.

Here’s the answer to the question you’ve been waiting for: “How do you manifest?”

Step 1: Figure out what you want, really figure it out

This step works sort of like a Google search; your results are only as specific as you make them. Instead of “I want a partner,” try, “I want a partner who is exactly three inches taller than me, a year older, goes to Harvard (no idea why you would ask for this, but you do you!), and has a sense of humour exactly like mine.”

What you want to avoid doing is using “don’t,” like in “I don’t want a partner who attends UChicago (this, I understand).”

To figure this out, you also need to understand why you want it. Because here’s the kicker: manifesting is not about you and what you want. It’s about what’s best for the universe, for everyone. Whose life will get better when yours does? How many people will be served when you manifest your desires? Your karmic account has to line up; the reason you are manifesting has to be worth what you’re manifesting

Step 2: Believe you can have it

This is what all the affirmations are. To actually get something, you have to believe that you are deserving; this means none of that modesty shit, but also none of that arrogance garbage. Recognize what you have done, your (true) value as a person, and determine whether this is a reasonable ask.

(If it is not, and I cannot stress this enough, the Universe will not give it to you; you cannot actually manifest anything and everything.)

But if it is, good. An abundance mindset comes from the fundamental belief that you are enough as you are––not a little smarter, a little lighter, a little more this or that, just as you are. Affirmations are a great way to remind yourself of this, and in turn, keep your vibrations (or the classier abbreviation, vibes) good.

Step 3: Ask the Universe (a.k.a. Summon the genie, except there’s no blue Will Smith to haunt your dreams)

This is possibly the easiest step. You can ask in various ways: prayer, meditation, visualization, vision boards (I would believe Pinterest does count, yes), writing. The act of putting pen to paper is supposed to be sacred––no, not fingers to keys––so if you can, write it out. Write a letter to the universe, make a list, whatever tickles your fancy.

Step 4: Help the Universe help you

There’s a key part in the “friends who do xyz” example above: to get, you have to be. Manifestation, at the end of the day, is co-creation with the universe. The universe isn’t doing all the heavy lifting, you have to be lifting beside it––or at least spotting it. Working towards your goals increases your chances of getting what you want, it’s like a nudge. It’s also fun––or at least, it should be; if getting there isn’t fun, the “there” isn’t going to be much fun either.
This is fairly easy. Work towards your goals, isn’t that what everyone is always harping on about? How you do it is completely up to you, because it depends on your goal. If you’re super confused, use what is possibly the only thing more powerful than the Universe: Google. (For legal and spiritual purposes, that was a joke. I am not interested in being smited by the Universe.)

Step 5: Trust the process

This shit takes time, y’all. It’s not a crash diet, you can’t get what you want in 24 hours or even 7 days; and if you do, you’ll lose it just as fast.

But also, keep an eye out. The Universe is creative with its signs, so be open to different presentations of your goals. In the context of a partner, no they will not appear limb-by-limb, but hey, what about that really cute person you bumped into on your way to class last week? The ~feeling~ you got then, huh?

And meanwhile, vibe check yourself! Keep the good vibes flowing; recite your affirmations, do your self-care routines, smile at strangers.

You now know (1) why ManifestationTok is garbage, (2) the actual origins of manifestation, and (3) how to manifest. (*Checks list, nods.*) That’s it. You’re good to go. It’s also time for my daily affirmations, and the Universe doesn’t like to be kept waiting.

One last thing: Just stay true to the roots––both, manifestations’ and yours.

Thumbnail via.

Fernweh~8: Myanmar

May 31, 2021

fernweh

/ˈfɛʁnveː/

farsickness or longing for far-off places

Most of my fernweh conversations revolved around the distinction of home and house. I believed, and still believe, that travelling is a pursuit of temporary houses that we can settle the sense of home we carry within us in.

Recently, in a psychology class of mine, I came across strong arguments claiming that the feeling of happiness is something we teach ourselves by training our cognition to experience pleasure. We motivate ourselves to be happy in consideration of our past. So, similar to this idea, we may be novice to feeling at home, but as long as we reminisce about the memory of the past, as long as we long to find a house that also will be a home to our singularity, we may allow ourselves to root for the new.

This fernweh travel is with Elaine, who currently resides in the same “house” that I live in. As strange as living in a place that is arbitrarily called a house, coincidentally, the time I decided to interview Elaine was when we went to watch the film Nomadland, a film that discusses the idea of carrying a home with us. Initially, Elaine was going to talk about her Taiwanese roots. However, she decided to “draw on her other culture- Myanmar,” as the Chinese clothing history was covered in another interview of the Fernweh series. Before diving into the interview, I would like to add the side note of Elaine, as I believe it is important to include how people associate themselves with the culture they are talking about. Elaine wanted to preface that “She is not as in touch with her Burmese side as she is with her Taiwanese side, but she does know a bit.”

I truly enjoyed your perspective Elaine, thank you!

SK: What does it mean to you when I say “Burmese clothing”?

Elaine: I imagine sarongs (which on Google is called longyi). As a little girl, I remember my dad prancing around the house in the few sarongs he managed to keep from Myanmar. Here are a few pictures of this on men and women:

Normally for women, the sarongs have more pretty patterns and flowers on them, while the men tend to have more muted, plaid colors. Also notice that most of them wear sandals- it’s really hot and humid in Myanmar, so sandals are definitely preferred over sneakers or other types of shoes.

SK: How would you describe the traditional clothing in Myanmar?

Elaine: It suits the hot, humid climate very well! They definitely favored practicality and adaptability to the environment.

SK: Considering there may be a positive correlation between the history and the clothing, are there any specific historical challenges that the clothing was exposed to?

Elaine: Sarongs are apparently an adaptation of Indian/Malay clothing after the British colonization of Myanmar. They are much easier to wear than the older traditional clothing of Myanmar (namely, paso and htamein) so it eventually caught on with everyone.

SK: How would you describe today’s clothing? Are there any major contributions to fashion, such as designers, trends, labels, weeks…?

Elaine: People still wear it daily on the streets today in the suburban/rural areas, whereas in big cities like Yangon and Mandalay more Westernized clothing is favored. However, for important ceremonies like weddings, dinner banquets, etc., everyone wears a more glamorous version of the traditional clothing.

SK: Some of the people have preconceived notions about other nations’ clothings. Have you experienced such a thing? How do people perceive your nation?

Elaine: Definitely! But these preconceived notions are not necessarily negative- they are for the most part correct. But not everyone wears this everyday. They also favor Westernized clothing because it’s trendy and rather practical too.

I’m not exactly sure how people perceive Myanmar. It is a country that is battling for democracy right now against the military regimen, so the common sentiment I get right now is sympathy for their fight.

Thumbnail image via

Video Game Tracks to Score Your Finals Week

May 31, 2021

I often imagine that music takes the shape of a liquid. It’s the little tunes that get stuck in my head most often–– the cheap, sugar-sweet tune that pours over hot summer air, proceeding the slow crawl of the ice cream truck. The soft jingle of the television as a company attempts to sell insurance, or a foot-long sub. The sudden emptiness of the room when the AC shuts off, the held note evaporating into thin air as the machine gasps for breath.

It seeps. Every moment of our lives is scored.

It’s in these sounds that I’m reminded most of my childhood. Last weekend, I took the liberty of digging up my old Nintendo DS in all its sparkly pink and sticker adorned glory. The little bell at the end of a heart-shaped keychain looped to the side jingled as I grabbed it, and I half-expected a window to appear before my eyes, signaling the discovery of a new item. Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team was still loaded in the cartridge slot.

What I remember most vividly about these games, beyond the beautiful graphics and otherworldly characters, is the music. Not a single inch of narrative went unexplored by kid-Emily–– I would speak to each NPC multiple times, exhausting all conversation options until I was certain I’d amassed near-encyclopedic knowledge of the in-game world. The map, too, was a treasured tool; I’d pull my avatar around the region until I knew each space like the back of my hand. And with every line of dialogue, every new city, music was there.

The towns have an undeniably ethereal, larger-than-life presence. A different track scores each area. As you, explorer, venture through each individually scored area, the transitions between tracks creates the visage of traveling across worlds.

Real life is not so naturally romanticized. There is no such celestial track scoring periods of growth, nor epic battle music blaring as you clock in for your shift in retail.

And yet, my memories of summer are drenched in sound. I think back to swim meets and am met with that sugar-sweet tune, the decrescendo until on your mark… *BEEP* and the immediate ffff cacophony of teammates and family cheering. I remember the songbirds outside my window as I rose for morning practice, and the rush of crisp air across my eardrums, flooding my lungs as I sprinted against the clock.

There is no battle theme scoring the entrance of the away team. No matter. You can hear the music all the same.

I’m taken back to those moments in my family’s living room, the soft carpet beneath my body, where I would let the score play unburdened from my DS as I counted the stars in the sky (lightbulbs on the ceiling, but alas).

Close your eyes.

Carpets can be grassy fields. Lightbulbs can be stars. The tune of the ice cream truck can signal an optional side-quest.

The world is exciting. It awaits you.

The following tracks contain some of my favorite atmospheres–– pieces from film, free skate programs, video game towns. See end for extended playlist.

Later, Gator

*song + art by Louie Zong*

♫

The Golden Hour

*song + art by Louie Zong*

♫

Azalea Town & Blackthorn City

*pkmn / art by Louie Zong*

♫

Pewter City

*pkmn / art by Louie Zong*

♫

animal crossing.jpeg — 2:00 AM

*animal crossing*

♫

Solaceon Town

*pkmn / art by Louie Zong*

♫

Screen Shot 2021-05-28 at 6.12.48 PM.png — National Park

*pkmn / art by Loupii*

♫

YURI ON ICE

*yuri! on ice / art by Louie Zong*

♫

Header art by Louie Zong.

More than Ten Years of the Nerd Spectacle -Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

May 27, 2021

“Hello again, friend of a friend.” Welcome to a new post celebrating a nerd culture franchise. This time, I will be exploring a lesser know entry, one that began as a graphic novel and then morphed into a video game, a short animation, and a cult classic movie, “bombing” at the 2010’s box office (making around $47 million worldwide out of a $60 million budget) before going into a rebirth phase once the DVD and Blu-ray hit the shelves. If you have ever heard of the name Scott Pilgrim and know who this character is, props to you. You will rejoice with me while I write about his story. (Extra bonus points if you identified what the opening lines refer to). If you haven’t heard of him nor the title Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, but you enjoy my deep dives into the fashion and costume designs behind tv shows and movies, this post will not stray away from their general formula, so don’t fret as I will present you to Scott Pilgrim’s world like I have done before in all the previous articles. Thus, with the movie being re-released on cinemas for its 10th (or 11th, more on this later) anniversary celebration, it is prime time to talk about Scott Pilgrim.

Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life is the graphic novel that started it all. Written by Bryan Lee O’Malley and published in 2004 by Oni Press, it provided readers with a plot that combined the slice of life genre with absurd and bonkers events that pin the 23-year-old Canadian protagonist Scott Pilgrim (and sometimes his band Sex Bob-Omb) against the seven “evil” superpowered exes of his new romantic interest, Ramona Flowers. The author and illustrator scatter references to rock bands, video games, and other comic books to present both the novel and Scott’s identity as a nerd rocker, an indicator of one of the book’s target audiences. Moreover, Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life featured an art style different from what most graphic novels displayed at the time, with bright colors, highly expressive faces, models with big eyes, and soft, blunt features that looked to fit the fantastical aspects of the graphic novel more than a story about a lazy adult man who starts the story with little to no interest in finding a stable job.

With decent sales numbers, Scott Pilgrim’s story expanded into five more volumes that delved more into the outlandish uniqueness that made book one excellent (most notably, Ramona’s powers and the fight scenes between Scott and the evil exes of which no character in any novel seemed to question how certain people showed superpowers and others didn’t), presented new fan-favorite characters (Envy, anyone), developed older ones further, and tied Scott and Ramona’s story neatly in a satisfying ending that came six years later.

Around the same time O’Malley released the series’ volume six titled Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour, a movie adaptation helmed by Baby Driver and Shaun of the Dead director Edgar Wright and featuring Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Ramona, Michael Cera as Scott with appearances by Chris Evans, Anna Kendrick, Aubrey Plaza, and Brie Larson (more on her later) was released in theaters to a muted reception by audiences. I was a small kid during that time, so I am not sure why people did not show up to watch it. Still, I would wager that the reasons lie in a combination between the niche nerd market the movie catered toward (video game lovers, rock fans, and comic book readers overlapping together in a time when Xbox and PlayStation consoles were not hot commodities nor the MCU and DCEU were popular), a lack of awareness and interest from “the regular cinema-goers,” and competition from movies released in the same week like The Expendables.

Nonetheless, from the moment Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (named after the graphic novel series’ second volume) found its way to people’s homes through Blu-rays, DVDs, and televised movie channels, it became more than just a niche box office flop. With the advent of nerd and geek culture as a staple for what is cool inside pop culture, social media, and movie streaming, more people began to resonate with the film’s over-the-top video game fights, Scott’s personal life and personality, and the various references and easter eggs to previous nerd properties, something that helped the movie transcend from a simple cult classic.

What sets Scott Pilgrim vs. The World apart from other movies is how it plays with the nerd and alternative rocker culture by infusing different franchises like Pac-Man, Street Fighter, X-Men, Fantastic 4, Mario, Zelda, Castlevania, and Soulcalibur; bands like Smashing Pumpkins, Plumtree, Sex Pistols, Metric, Broken Social Scene, Beck; and traits like the anime glaring (actors were asked not to blink too much inside takes), emoticon faces, flashing red when losing HP, bursting into coins upon defeat, comic book sound bubbles, and the KO sign into the plot to create a fan-fest that becomes self-referential rather than a movie reliant on one particular franchise. And as a reference for those of you who are Disney fans, Wreck-It Ralph does almost the same as Scott Pilgrim vs. The World by featuring characters from video games in a plot that encompasses the experience of being immersed in a world with video game tropes rather than about specific games.

I could go on and talk about the symbolic reason why the “League of Evil Exes” exists based on how they are portrayed in the movie and how they contrast with Scott, how Ramona is an independent, fully-fledge, three-dimensional character while also being the male protagonist’s object of “desire,” and a lot more about how the film is more than just a nerd spectacle. Yet, I believe these are details that you can only truly appreciate while watching it. I also think that, for those who opened this post to read about fashion, it is time to discuss the movie’s costume design.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World’s costume designer is Laura Jean Shannon, who had worked before in Elf, Iron Man, and Requiem for a Dream. Her approach to designing the movie’s vestures was to use the clothing seen in the graphic novels as a direct template for what the characters would wear in the film, staying true to O’Malley’s artistic vision. As Shannon mentions in an interview with The Style Notebook, what she did “was take his simplified version of real-life from the books and re-interpret it to be real again.” That included selecting which designs from the novels would be recreated and developing new ones based on them.

A great example of this approach is Scott’s style throughout the movie. In the source material, his iconic vestures include a variety of ringer graphic tees, jean pants, simple striped tennis shoes, and a selection of parkas, depending on the weather. In Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Shannon almost precisely reproduced his base wardrobe, only giving him sport wristbands, swapping the graphic images from scene to scene, and modifying the colors of his other garments. His primary style became his superhero uniform in the simplest of terms, made even more interesting because many of the nerd references I mentioned in the previous paragraphs are featured in the movie through his t-shirts. Scott wears tees with Astro Boy’s face, a Fantastic Four (and ½) logo, a Diesel Sweeties pixel skull (this is a deep cut), a Guitar Hero logo, and many more. Scott’s Plumtree t-shirt is even a reference to the origin of his name, a 1998 song from the Canadian band Plumtree, and to the same garment seen in the comic series several times. Therefore, the protagonist’s “superhero garbs” are intrinsic to his identity, which permeates the movie’s overall aesthetic, and in many ways, serves as the most authentic and reproducible style for any fan to incorporate in their own life.

Ramona is another character who has a personal style that stands out. When Scott first meets her in “real life,” Ramona’s hair is pink, and she wears steampunk goggles over her head, a faded green parka over a blue hoody over a purple sweater, a short blue skirt over pink fishnet stockings (an interesting combo for the cold weather), a pair of roller skates, and her Subspace purse. Her skates are courtesy of her work as a “Ninja delivery girl” for Amazon Canada, which Ramona is fantastic at due to her mastery of the Subspace Highway, an in-between dimension the character uses to store personal items (that is what her purse is for) and travel between two locations in short amounts of time (the Highway is almost like an astral plane worm-hole). However, unlike Scott, she wears a plurality of garments that elucidate the nuances of her personality, from a pink button-up shirt and jeans that make her stand out from the crowd when she is trying to blend in, to an entirely black outfit consisting of a sundress, a left-hand fingerless glove, leggings, an oversized belt, studded punk boots, and a vinyl hooded motorcycle jacket when she (spoiler alert) “decides” to go back to her seventh ex. Interestingly, Ramona’s black outfit was created by Shannon for the movie before O’Malley was able to draw her in his last volume since the author was working on book six while Scott Pilgrim vs. The World was in development. And yet, her hair colors are one of her stylistic traits that stand out the most in the movie, also as part of her character arch.

Working with Ramona’s aesthetic, Shannon explains that she collaborated a lot with the hair and makeup department to build a cohesive style for the character that could also hint at her development. The costume designer says that she “always made sure to let [the hair and makeup department] know what to expect with the costumes, and we would often discuss what that meant in terms of their world.” In the comics, Ramona mentions that her hair color changes around three weeks or so, so throughout the six volumes, she goes through about eight distinct hues. In the movies, however, the character styles her hair pink, blue, and then green. Some people speculate this is a reference to the Zelda triforce goddesses. Another explanation comes from Ramona, who quotes her graphic novel version pointing to the color swaps being something she does every week and a half, providing viewers with a contextual timeline for the film. But looking at the moments in the movie Ramona styles her hair differently, she changes into the blue look after the first time Scott sleeps in her house and then into green when she “rekindles” her relationship with the seventh ex. These are clues that link her hairstyles with Ramona’s feelings about her relationships, where pink represents her status as single or in a situation she still is not the most comfortable in, blue represents the character’s developed love and attraction towards Scott, and green represents her breaking up with Pilgrim and more deeply, losing her freedom of choice as a result of her seventh ex actually controlling her emotions.

Lastly, I would like to focus on the character of Envy Adams as another iconic representation of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World’s fashion-forward style. Envy, played by Brie Larson, is the protagonist’s ex-girlfriend, but more than that, the lead singer of Scott’s rival band, Clash at Demonhead, also comprised by Ramona’s third ex. She is based initially on Metric’s singer and keyboardist Emily Haine, who composed the song “Blacksheep” for the film, which Brie iconically performed in one of the best scenes of the movie and which remains one of my favorite songs of all time. (It is a shame that Universal did not release an official version of the song by the actress for everybody to listen to on a streaming service like Spotify or Apple Music).

Envy’s two outfits are fire, and that is why I wanted to highlight them. The movies present her first wearing hoop earrings, a skull and sword necklace, a snake ring, a white trench coat with black buttons over a black slip dress, and red lace heels styled with a high ponytail and bangs. Then, she only wears the ring and her black dress and red heels for the Clash at Demonhead performance with a new hairstyle (here, my limited knowledge about different hairstyle names shows), a locket necklace, and an armlet. And finally, after the performance, she is seen with her earrings, a black and white café racer leather jacket, a black and white striped blouse, white pants, and black glossy high heels. Envy’s limited color scale is a node to her band’s palette, but the shapes created by the trench coat, the jacket, and even the slip dress and the red heels transmit this idea of sexy, dangerous fierceness Scott Pilgrim vs. The Wolrd depicts her having, making her brief appearance one of the most memorable of the film and one of the most iconic Brie Larson performances.

Thus, if I convinced you to dip your toes a little bit more into the world of the nerd spectacle or if you are already a long time fan of Scott Pilgrim, you can watch a remastered version of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World remixed with Dolby Vision 4K resolution and Dolby Atmos surround sound in theaters in the US at select Dolby XD AMC venues for a whole week, beginning on April 30th. Director Edgar Wright planned this re-release to happen in 2020 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the movie’s launch (August), but because of the Pandemic, it had to be pushed back until more movie theaters around the country started to reopen. In theory, the re-release will happen near the film’s 11th anniversary but will still celebrate the number 10.

Update: the exclusive Dolby Cinema re-release of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World already ended. However, starting May 7th, around 451 theaters across the United States will screen it for a limited time and some may still display it in Dolby Vision, so this is your second opportunity to either rewatch this nerd culture phenomenon for the 10th time or do so for the first time in theaters. And hey British people and Canadians, there are plans for re-releases in Canada and the UK, so be prepared!

Nonetheless, if you are unable or unwilling to do so, you can stream Scott Pilgrim vs. The World right now on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, rent/buy it on YouTube and Google Play, or if you are old school or a collector, you can buy the movie’s upcoming 4K UHD Blu-ray whenever it comes out.

Cover Image Via

"That's SO 2nd Century B.C.E."

May 25, 2021

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lol it actually is cultural appropriation. But let me be clear: It’s not the usage of the word, it’s the fact that people aren’t even aware of its history that makes it cultural appropriation.

The first time an Instagram Reel popped up on my feed talking about manifestation, I straight up ignored it, Here we go. Another “spiritual” fad for TikTok to eat up. Unsurprisingly, I was right. ManifestationTok is a real thing:

Forgive me for not actually using TikTok, it’s banned in my country. This was the second-best option.

Manifestation is not unheard about; actually, according to OprahDaily, it was popularized by the best-selling 2006 novel, The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne––a white, Australian author. (You might think, Why was the last detail necessary? I’ll get to it.) Of course, she’s not been the only one; in fact, she was merely the kick-starter. Here’s the Goodreads recommendation list for books about manifestation:

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So, someone wrote a book about something and it blew up; that’s not unusual. Absolutely, it isn’t. If you deep dive into manifestation, you’ll hear about something called the 3-6-9 method; it applies to anything you’re trying to “manifest.” You would say a person’s name 3 times, recite your intentions for them 6 times, and say what you would say to them 9 times; or, you journal 3 times in the morning, 6 times during the day, 9 times before bed; or, you repeat your affirmations 3 times in the morning, 6 times during the day, 9 times before bed. You get it; 3-6-9 are the universe’s greatest numbers, blah blah blah. Don’t take it from me, actually, take it from the experts: The Manifestation Collective, whom you would trust to be a reliable source.

And what does ye wise old one say?

““The 369 manifestation method was one of the first exercises I discovered when I initially came across the law of attraction back in 2016. But before we move into how to use this technique to manifest, can I interest you in a little history lesson to begin? Now, where are my glasses…
Let me introduce Serbian-American inventor, Nikola Tesla. Tesla, famed for not only his inventions such as the remote control and the Tesla coil but also his spiritual enlightenment, noted the numbers 3, 6 and 9 as being ‘divine numbers’ and was quoted saying; ‘If you knew the magnificent of the numbers 3, 6 and 9, you have the key to the universe.’””

— The Manifestation Collective, "How To Do The 369 Manifestation Method"

Pardon my French, but that’s bullshit. Actually, Tesla brought the idea of 3-6-9 to the Western world from Swami Vivekananda, the first in a succession of yogis who brought Vedic philosophy and religion to the West.

In that vein, most “spirituality” is actually just white-washed Hinduism, or Buddhism, or Jainism. And manifestation is nothing other than one more Eastern practice that has been mislabelled and made mainstream by Western social media; the list itself is a topic for a whole different article, but the big ones include yoga, the third eye, chakras, and of course, “chai tea”––which literally translates to “tea tea.” (Thanks, Starbucks.)

Unfortunately, this phenomenon does not apply only to Hindu or Indian practices; reciting the list of things that are now mainstream that were once sacred socio-cultural practices to many communities is a book of its own.

But what really is cultural appropriation?

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To clear this up: neither your TikToks, nor your actual manifestation practices are exactly cultural appropriation. It is your lack of knowledge and your inability to admit, or ignorance to find out, the actual origins of the content you put out there. Cultural appreciation, which is when you seek to learn from and understand another culture while respecting their beliefs, differs from cultural appropriation in that the latter involves cherry-picking ideas from different cultures without respecting the beliefs behind them or where they came from. And that is exactly what this obsession with manifestation is––and as Indian, (somewhat) Hindu, I feel justified to call it out.

Manifestation is based on the “Law of Attraction,” which was said to be penned down by William Walker Atkinson in 1906. The real origins, however, are older than Atkinson by about 4,000 years––long enough for there not to be a debate. First mentioned in the Upanishads, a subcategory of the Vedas––a collection of the sacred texts of Vedic practices––the idea of manifestation has been written about extensively:

“That person, who desires for objects of pleasures, by contemplating on their properties, gets born, along with his desires, among those objects of pleasures.”

— Translation from Mundaka Upanishad, Mundakopanishad 3.2.3

“From it the universe comes forth, in it the universe merges and in it the universe breathes. Therefore a man should meditate on Brahman with a calm mind. Now, verily, a man consists of will. As he wills in this world, so does he become when he has departed hence. Let him with this knowledge in mind form his wit. ”

— Translation from Chandogya Upanishad

“Whatever destinations and objects of pleasures, the man, whose mind is free from impurities, he obtains those destinations and those objects of pleasures.”

— Translation from Mundaka Upanishad, Mundakopanishad 3.1.10

Go through all the articles on the first page of Google that comes up when you search “manifestation,” and tell me if you can find those quotes in any of them. If anything, you’ll rarely see a mention of either Hinduism, Jainism, or Buddhism; to these (poorly researched) authors, manifestation is a completely Western thing.

Because, of course, why would it not be? When Hindus or other Eastern religions practice the same thing, they are looked at fearfully, branded as “demonic.” But when Blair on TikTok posts a 30-second reel in which she shows you how to manifest anything you want––love, money, a fat ass, you name it––manifestation is now intriguing, appreciable, and very trendy.

Go through the Goodreads list too, do you see any non-white names? I’m not accusing any of those authors of bad research; or at least not yet, I haven’t read any of those books. But it’s interesting to note that the most famous books about an ancient Eastern spiritual practice are all written by non-Eastern––or non-Hindu, non-Buddhist, non-Jain (sounding)––people.

If you read this and your first reaction is to be offended, I understand. But take a step back and notice: this is not about you––unless you’re one of those people on TikTok posting uninformed manifestation videos, then this is definitely about you. No one is denying your right and ability to practice parts of our culture––yes, even the ones we are mocked for––but we’re asking you to learn what you’re talking about. Appreciate it more. Recognize its roots. And then, manifest all you want.

The funny thing? Manifestation is not a foolproof strategy to get anything and everything you want. This whitewashed trend of asking the universe for something and getting it, that’s not real manifestation. What is it really? Well, that’s a topic for another discussion.

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Source: https://in.pinterest.com/pin/7454865445539...

Fernweh~7: China

May 20, 2021

fernweh

/ˈfɛʁnveː/

farsickness or longing for far-off places

In the last fernweh visits, I tried to write about cultures that can be considered relatively “local.” I did not want to touch upon wide geographies or histories that go so far back. It was obvious for me that I would not be able to talk about every important aspect of their traditions. Now, I understand that I basically avoided them because I was daunted. However, with the recent interviews I conducted with my friends who are from various corners of the world, I have gained a privileged access into those cultures, as my friends not only provided me with such wonderful conversations but also with their insider perspectives to their cultures.

In this fernweh, my friend Ally and I talked about Chinese clothing and traditions. A small disclaimer, we had a very hard time finding the right photos. Even though there is a great number of Chinese clothing representations, my friend told me that almost none of them represents the clothes that the commoner people wore. They are mostly the depictions of the loyal class. So, let’s say we did our best to find the photos we thought represents the Chinese clothing.

Enjoy!

SK: What does it mean to you when I say “Chinese clothing”?

Ally: There are fifty six ethnic groups in China, and each ethnic group has its own traditional clothing. The Han group is considered the biggest. Let’s not say the biggest but the dominant one. Because of this separation, the remaining fifty five groups are considered as the minority groups. To my knowledge, these days, most of the groups, including the Han group, do not wear their traditional clothes that come to mind first. Even in the holiday seasons. There is a great mainstream influence by the Western media. So, I believe that people... avoid wearing those clothes? I am not sure. However, as far as I know, there has been, and is, an advocacy of resurrecting the Chinese clothing.

SK: So, for you, Chinese clothing has a relationship to the traditions and ethnicities then. How would you describe the traditional clothing in China?

A: The clothing depends on the ruling class. Therefore, it was Han clothing most of the time. However, there were times when other ethnic groups took the lead. As I said, whoever ruled the territory of China, they had a say in the clothing. At the end of the Qing dynasty, the last ruling dynasty, the clothing turned into something very conservative. People started to pay special attention to covering their bodies. Especially women. So, in terms of design, I cannot tell something very specific, as China has a very long history. However, the final point of the “traditional” clothes was probably around that time. Therefore, it can be a good description of the last design, I guess.

SK: I see. So, there is a positive correlation between the history and the clothing. Are there any specific historical challenges that the clothing was exposed to?

A: Chinese history is so long, so complex! I guess I can take off from the Qing period. After that, there was a period that was less conservative. Around that time, for example, people--women--started to wear a dress called Qipao. It is a very tight dress produced “for” women. It was meant to show female body curves. But then, PRC is established. As a result of communism/socialism, those clothes like Qipao became luxurious. People were expected to dress the same way to secure homogeneity. The other types of clothing were not banned. However, the social norms pressured people to act that way. There were blue and green overalls and trousers everywhere. Clothes like Qipao were considered offensive. After the cultural revolution, there was a movement initiated by the president. I don’t know the exact details, but it was mainly about the cultural exchange with the West. And… And Western clothing was introduced. However, even now, not every aspect of the Western culture was tolerated. It turned out to be a partial exchange. For example, tank tops and shorts are still not welcomed. Young people do criticize, but still… The general consensus is that.

SK: How would you describe today’s clothing? Are there any major contributions to fashion, such as designers, trends, labels, weeks…?

A: I am really not very knowledgeable about that *laughs* However, The clothing I see on the streets of China is not very different from what I see here, in Woodlawn. And, I believe, there is a Chinese street trend. But I am not sure.

SK: Yes, this did not surprise me at all. Actually, I have one more question for you. Last week, while talking with a Turkish friend of mine, my friend mentioned that here some of the people have preconceived notions about her nation’s clothing. Have you experienced anything similar?

A: I haven’t had the chance to meet with people here. However, a couple of years ago, when I was in high school, I came to a summer camp in the States. My roommate was a local, and I remember that she was joking about the way I dressed. She told me that I wear boy-ish clothes. To be honest, that surprised me. Because in China, the way I dressed was very normal. There is this perception of Chinese students that they don’t care about their appearances. They wear nerdy and comfy clothes. They don’t show off or wear make up. I am not sure if this is a common thought among people, but I have a memory like that.

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Raya’s Costume Design Puts the Warrior in the Princess

May 18, 2021

Raya and the Last Dragon is a Disney Princess movie that reflects the time it was released. It is a film about a female protagonist driving her own narrative, not a story about a fugitive princess who accepts working as a housekeeper for small magical creatures for then to be poisoned and awoken by a prince, or a princess who doesn’t even appear in her movie for more than 18 minutes. Raya is brave and steadfast but stubborn and a cynic. She is flashed out with a development arch exploring her initial selfishness to her final sacrifice. She has her own goals that, even if not honorable at the beginning, become noble at the end. Raya is reminiscent of Disney’s more recent heroic-driven female royal characters like Merida, Vanellope, Anna and Elsa, and Moana. I am not saying that Disney Princesses in romantic-driven storylines are not strong or independent. Just look at Tiana or how the Aladdin live-action transformed Jasmine into both a lover and a potentially great and caring leader (this is my favorite change from the animation, coupled with the song Speechless). Still, Raya’s story is different and empowering, and it is not only because she is the first Southeast Asian character of renown in the Disney slate.

Firstly, is Raya a true Disney Princess? Disney hasn’t yet mentioned anything concrete about it. There is no information regarding a coronation and Raya appearing in any of the parks, and the Disney Princess official website does not feature her in their list. Usually, after the Disney Princess brand was created in the 2000s, Disney movies’ newest princess characters like Tiana and Rapunzel have to fit criteria modeled after the unifying characteristics of the prior Princesses such as Mulan, Belle, and Cinderella. The SuperCarlinBrothers youtube channel has made several videos explaining those rules, so I recommend watching the Raya and the Last Dragon one so you can see how Raya may fit in the Disney Princess mold and if she may ever become one. Thus, from the company itself, Raya’s ultimate royal status is still unknown.

However, inside the movie, she is the Chief of Heart’s daughter, much like Moana is the daughter of Tui, the chief of Motunui Island, making her a defacto canonic princess. She is even called by the “princess” title at the beginning of the film. Still, there are characters like Kida from Atlantis: The Lost Empire and Giselle from Enchanted that are also canonical human princesses in their respective installments without being Disney’s favorite children. So, what did the writers intend Raya to be when they wrote her? Interestingly, they have provided conflicting answers. (Just as a side note, if you did not understand before, I use the capital “Princess” to refer to the official Disney Princesses and the lower cases “princess” to refer to the title.)

Adele Lin, who worked as a writer for Crazy Rich Asians, and Vietnamese playwright Qui Nguyen penned Raya and the Last Dragon’s screenplay together. Nonetheless, this does not mean their perception of the character they created is the same. They have mentioned in previous interviews that Raya was not originally intended to be a princess. Raya is the protagonist, yet she does not sing because the animation was not planned as a musical, a deviation from most recent female-led Disney films. (I would like to intervene and say that the movie would be much more remarkable to fans if Raya was a singing heroine, but the creators thought that songs would stuff and convolute the action scenes, which the film is chock full off). Every single official Disney Princess sings at least once, even Aurora, and some of the world’s most remarkable songs are from Princess movies (A Whole New World and How Far I’ll Go, to name a few). Thus, the writers thought of her more as a guardian warrior than a princess that could fit the Disney criteria from the get-go.

Adele Lin says in an interview with Showbiz Cheat Sheet that the change into making her royalty then came from “the feeling of leadership, that she was brought up to be a leader and she takes on that mantle of leadership happily. For that to be the inspiration for a lot of young kids watching this movie.” In other words, Raya became canonical royalty to fulfill the position of a role model to children, something that Disney has always attributed to the idea of a princess. Nonetheless, Qui Nguyen still does not feel that Raya should have been portrayed as royalty. For him, based on an interview with Den of Geek, the heroine sees herself only as Guardian of the Dragon Gem and that “the princess thing was by proxy, or by the simple fact that she’s the daughter of the chief. I guess that does make her a princess, but I don’t think she necessarily identifies as that. She’s much more of an aspirational kind of warrior character.” Nguyen has an interesting point about looking at Raya as an inspiration not because she is necessarily in a position of leadership as a princess, but because she is a fighter, a hero, a person who learns kindness and the power of sacrifice through experiences, something that Disney has established as part of their brand through Marvel.

Therefore, there is no real consensus out there to categorize Raya as a Disney Princess (it will be funny if, between the time I write this post and the time I publish it, Disney announces the official royal status of Raya and everything I wrote about the dubiousness of the situation becomes null). So, at the end of the day, she will become an official Disney Princess if audiences see her movie en masse and she sells enough merchandise to prove she is famous and memorable amongst Disney fans. It is not for nothing that Disney created the Princess line mainly to sell toys and clothing. Still, even if Raya hasn’t yet gotten her ultimate title, she remains canonical royalty, and one of the most exciting aspects of her character that distinguishes her from every other Disney Princess or princess is that she is a warrior in both how she moves and looks.

Disney is known as a company that spends careful attention crafting stories that are culturally sensitive, inclusive, and celebrative, something that has roots in the conceptualization and construction process behind the Animal Kingdom park. Part of the company’s faithfulness to cultural representation (not appropriation) comes from their research trips to their “target countries.” For Raya and the Last Dragon, crew members traveled to the Southeast Asian countries of Laos, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, and Malaysia to learn about Southeast Asia in a more personal manner so the movie could feel genuine and grounded to their real-life traditional practices. Producer Osnat Shurer mentions in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that the “community that [directors Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada] encountered, the sense of 'we,' the importance of 'we' over 'I,' was so deep and so complete,” that it inspired the story of Kumandra and the idea of unifying all Southeast Asian countries and cultural practices into one state, which when separated into clans, shares bits and pieces from all real-life countries. Moreover, like Moana’s Oceanic Trust of scholarly advisors of Polynesian traditions, producers created the Southeast Asia Story Trust to keep all the film’s cultural representations accurate and respectful, defined by Shurer in an interview with IGN as “a coalition of specialists in various fields, including visual anthropology, linguistics, botany, choreography, architecture, martial artists, and others.”

In short, what I want to say when talking about Disney Animation’s thorough development process is how detailed and well-thought-out Raya and the Last Dragon’s visual and narrative conceptualization were regarding its connection to Southeast Asia. The creative team even took a new approach to animate costume designs in terms of fashion, using a draping-based process of arranging fabrics in an animated model rather than a previous pattern-based one with predetermined shapes and textures. Therefore, you could imagine that Raya was no exception to the rule.

Focusing on her fashion, audiences are presented to her in her clan outfit that features aquatic greens and blues to symbolize water’s importance as a symbol of life and purity, and the water dragons, deities inspired by the Naga serpents of various Asian folktales. Every single clan wears different colors as representations of their identities, from Talon’s purples and pinks to Fang’s whites, reds, and beige, but I believe Heart’s colors are more significant to the story. But after the Druuns take over the Heart clan, part of Raya’s identity and positive outlook in life disappear, and thus, as production designer Paul Felix mentions to The Hollywood Reporter, “she wanted to be incognito, so we took the palette away, but gave more subtle allusions.” Audiences can perceive those allusions on her salakót bolero hat, which has a stupa-shaped base (a Buddhist celebratory mound-like spherical structure housing sacred relics) and a curved top designed to resemble a teardrop, a clear representation of her connection with water.

Still, Raya’s main design focuses more on making her move like a fighter. She wears practical, flexible, and breathable garments that consist of a red and yellow cloak, a yellow sabai top, and a Cambodian brown sampot dress made of a rectangular cloth worn around the lower body to allow Raya to be agile and adequately demonstrate her martial arts skills. Moreover, in an interview with D23, simulation supervisor Avneet Kaur explains that “her cloak was devised to give her a sense of mystery, almost like acting as a shield” as a way to mimic Raya’s more skeptical, reticent, and unsociable personality while also showing that she is hurting from her father’s demise and doesn’t want others to see her sensitive self. Finally, her hairstyle was designed as a top-of-the-head doubled braid pinned back look so as to frame Raya’s face in a way audiences could clearly see her expressions and so the hair would not move in front of her sightline while she was fighting. Unlike other princesses with restrictive exuberant garbs, even Moana, Raya’s costume is both culturally sound and created to support her combat abilities.

Lastly, regarding Raya’s fighting knowledge, screenwriter Qui Nguyen, also credited for additional fight reference choreography, mixed primarily Indonesian Pencak Silat with a bit of Muay Thai and Vietnamese Đấu Vật (wrestling) into the protagonist’s array of skills. He also weaponized her with Arnis or Eskrima sticks (in the movies’ first scenes) and a wave-like Kris sword that used to belong to her father. The care for the accurate representation of actual combat styles both exists as a tribute to Southeast Asian cultures and a demonstration of how unique Raya is as a Disney character, especially a princess. From all Disney animated feature films, Raya and the Last Dragon is the main one to depict a fighting choreography that feels grounded, real, and exciting when watched. The combat is one of its features that makes it stand out from any other Disney movie, and writing Raya as a warrior princess that spends her early days learning how to fight to become a guardian and spends the rest of the movie applying her knowledge grants her a quality no other Disney royalty has from the get-go (not even Mulan or Merida have the same level or variety of acquired skills Raya has). To watch her fight so well makes sense, and looks fantastic.

Conclusively, as Raya’s name translates to “celebration” in Malay, a language spoken in most Southeast Asian countries, Raya and the Last Dragon is a film that celebrates Southeast Asian cultures in ways few movies have ever done. More than that, it presents to audiences a character that is representative of such cultures with a costume design that is different from any the garments worn by previous Disney Princesses and princesses, one that maximizes her fighting potential and the audience’s ability to enjoy her martial arts skills, an essential aspect of her characterization. In turn, that singles her out from any other previous Disney Princess as a heroine born out of royalty that chose to become a guardian, chose to learn how to fight, and saw herself becoming a leader before thoroughly enjoying the influence of being royalty. In the end, even if Raya and the Last Dragon is not as popular as Disney Animation’s previous movies, Raya and the characters in her world will stand the test of time as unique new entries to the Disney collection of stories.

Cover Image Via

MODA Designer Profile: David Chen

May 14, 2021

With the MODA fashion show rapidly approaching, MODA blog is here to share all the details regarding the true masterminds behind the artistry of the show. MODA Designer Profiles is our one-one-one interview series with this year’s class of designers, and for this instalment, I sat down with 3rd year Econ and Creative Writing David Chen, who is the current Design co-Director for this year’s show to briefly talk about this year’s collection, his broad design philosophy and his directorial eye for the future of MODA’s design teams.

Let’s start with this collection. I’d love to hear your kind of elevator pitch for what you intend to send down the runway! What are some sources of inspiration for your collection? What are the big ideas? What are the ~*Vibes*~?

Have you ever seen those pictures of people who can fit a year’s worth of trash in a jar? That’s kind of where I took inspiration from…

I feel like a lot of people were working on or focusing their collections on sustainability and I guess I’m on that train as well. I was watching The Politician, and that’s where the idea first came from, and I thought about how I could expand it into two more looks. So one is inspired by a metal straw and the third…I still haven’t come up with a concrete design, but I may want to veer towards a more excessive look.

Broadly, I’m curious if you have a design philosophy or if you think of a certain kind of person when you put together a collection?

There are a lot of people out there who think that wearing expensive name brand things is considered fashion and then there are a lot of people who are afraid of fashion because they see these people - not necessarily gate keeping - but they begin to see fashion as this exclusive, name brand thing. I think one of the biggest things for me this year is that: Every piece I've made, I’ve used clearance fabric, even like a hat I made is made from a pair of old jeans. Fashion isn’t all about how much you can spend on your outfit, I think it’s super cool you can go into a thrift store and take a few pieces that nobody wants to wear and make them into something that everyone wants to wear.

It’s so annoying when people think fashion is just being able to buy full-price luxury item, and that’s just what drives me to make clothes.

Can you describe your collection in 3 words:

Scrappy. Unconventional. Excessive.

I want to show that fashion can be there very out there and very excessive and still very accessible.

With this year’s show being conducted under unprecedented circumstances, I’m curious to hear what unique challenges you find come about when designing under a pandemic?

I already have a procrastination and time management problem as is, and I guess with a pandemic, you’re even less motivated to just sit down and do what you love and you’re just trying to get through what you need to do. So that’s been a big challenge.

It seems like what pulls me through this year has really just been been celebrating each step that I make towards the final product. Some of the other designers were questioning if they could even design this year, given the pandemic, but David and I really just want everyone to do their best. It’s all about celebrating every little victory that you have.

You’re in a very unique position as design director, with so many young designers looking up to you as their mentor. I’m curious as to what advice would you give a new designer this year, maybe even what advice you would want to give to your younger self about the design process? What challenges to look out for or what moments to soak up, stuff like that.

I’ve noticed that one of the most challenging things is just starting. You have to spend a lot of money to acquire patterns and fabrics and stuff. For me, a lot of the time, it’s the fear of messing up and then having to spend more money or having to scrap a whole idea and start over from scratch. Not only are you spending time, but you’re also spending money. I think this year, I’ve learned that mistakes are beautiful. One of the best things about constructing garments is that you will inevitably run into something like your needle snapping or like something not coming out the way you wanted it to. But in that moment, you can choose to readjust very quickly. When the end piece comes out, it’s usually better than I would have ever expected. I think I would want designers to realize that there’s beauty in adjusting and just letting your intuition and your hands and the garments speak in the very end.

“I think I would want designers to realize that there’s beauty in adjusting and just letting your intuition and your hands and the garments speak in the very end. ”

What are you looking forward to most about the show?

Oh my Gosh, I’m so excited. With the show being virtual, more and more people are going to be able to watch it. I think that’s been a problem that MODA”s tried to address in the past, where the show has been unaccessible to a ton of people, with things like ticket prices or how quickly tickets sell out, but with this year being virtual, it’s great that so many people can watch it.

I’m also excited for so many of the new designers. With the experience I had last year, just standing there having the pieces you worked so hard on being displayed is such an incredible experience and I can’t wait for everyone else to have that.

All images courtesy of David Chen

Fernweh~6: Turkey

May 11, 2021

fernweh

/ˈfɛʁnveː/

farsickness or longing for far-off places

So far, the fernweh series has focused on the far-off places that I have been longing for and have never been to. In these times where we have limited access to travel, the series was an involuntary attempt to answer the question “which one broadens your perspective more: reading or traveling?” As I only had the option of reading, reading it was. Yet, now, a first-year who’s been to the campus for the first time, my longing for the far-off places expanded to my country of departure. Farsickness intertwined with homesickness in a foreign place where I should supposedly call home. And my once so familiar home is a distant place that I now miss. As dramatic as it sounds, I wanted to be a foreigner. Now, I am. And, no, it is not what I was hoping. It is just me, glancing, with a rusty sense of settlement.

I have quickly discovered that I am not the only one with a faraway home, with a need to get used to this ~situation~, with a sense of disconnectedness (from home or from where we are now as a society). That’s why I decided to change the series's structure into a journal format, where I will be interviewing people who identify themselves as those belonging somewhere else. I hope Fernweh can become a voice to the quotidian narrations of the people we see on campus every day.

Today’s Fernweh visit will be to Turkey, where I miss the most right now...

Su: What does it mean to you when I say “Turkish Clothing”?

Anonymous Student: I believe, not so weirdly, that it reminds me of the traditional Turkish clothing that we currently wear only on special occasions. However, I won’t be able to give you a very specific example as there are probably more than hundreds of traditional clothing spread across Turkey. As you may know, there is a great ethnic and geographic diversity in Turkey. There are not only traces of early Asian civilizations but also of Mesopotamian and European civilizations. Also, the geographic position of Turkey was on the path of multiple migrations and trade roads. So, I believe that is reflected in the great cultural variation in the current borders. When you say Turkish clothing, that is why I don’t think of modern, monic clothes but more of the traditional and diversified clothes.

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S: How would you describe the traditional clothing in Turkey, then?

AS: My previous answer is also applicable to this question. However, I can talk about the modern-day integrations of traditional clothing. Today, there are not many people who wear traditional clothing for everyday purposes. They are usually worn in folk events, such as dance and music competitions. Like in East Asia, it is not common to wear those clothes on national holidays. However, that is probably due to most of the “Turkish” traditional clothes being either a form of old, local military costumes or having a connection to those times. The “historical” clothes that the wealthy or the nobleman wore are not considered “traditional clothes” to my knowledge. For example, instead of the padishah and harem garments that are highly represented in the media, the clothes that we, as the folk, consider traditional are simpler and have the marks of the local geography. On the Aegean side, there are Efes who wear more Mediterranean-motivated clothes. On the other hand, in central Anatolia, you can see the historical marks of the Turkic tribes.

S: Actually, it is definitely not surprising to come across this differentiation between folk and noble clothing, considering my old entries. It has also become something typical to see the traces of national history in the evolution of fashion. How would you reflect on this?

AS: I definitely agree with that. Turkey's geography has gone through very distinct historical periods, ranging from nomadic life to the Ottoman empire. Also, in between these periods, there were time intervals where the influences of people shifted from Asia to Europe on a constant loop. There were times marked by what Turkish people call “modernization,” “westernization,” “East influence,” etc. Besides, even though Turkey is considered mostly an Islamic country, it was not like this for a long time. Even when you label the “Islamic” times as a period of historical focus, there was, and still is, a great majority of other religions and cultures present in Turkey. That is why our geography is considered multicultural. With each pivotal change in history, the region gained one additional dimension to its culture.

S: How would you describe today’s clothing?

AS: It is...pretty average *laughs*. On the street, you will mostly see casual or business clothing that you can find pretty much everywhere on Earth. However, I noticed here in the US that there is this preconception of Turkish people wearing hijabs, fezzes, and shalwars. I can understand the hijab and shalwar misconception to an extent as the hijab is worn as a personal choice by women who believe in Islam, and the shalwar has its modern rearrangement as sportswear, but the fez? It is a garment that left when the Ottoman Empire fell. And I don’t know if I should feel this way, but when somebody comes to me and asks me why I don’t wear a hijab or veil, I feel weird. It is a personal choice at the end of the day.

In terms of the fashion industry, I am not that knowledgeable. However, today, there is this new movement focused on embracing traditional Turkish motifs. I also see this in art. It is always pleasant to see such aesthetic combinations.

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Tortured Geniuses and Starving Artists

May 6, 2021

Last month, I came across an article by Agnes Callard, professor at the university, where she criticized Beth’s character in The Queen's Gambit:

The myth is of the genius “tortured” by some internal struggle the rest of us are not smart enough to understand, so that the best we can do is step out of their way. The real torture is the one we enact by classifying people as geniuses, to serve our own fantasies of independence. Geniuses are the monsters we make.

Long story short, geniuses are admired but feared and isolated, and Beth is not alone. The BBC adaptation of Sherlock portrays a high-functioning sociopath who also deals with drug addiction, an inability to emotionally connect with other people, and loneliness. He often treats people with disrespect and total disdain, leaving Watson to smooth over awkward social situations.

The personality of the genius launches Callard’s criticism on real-life geniuses, recalling people’s tolerance of their rude behaviors — they are so talented in one aspect, mustn’t we excuse their ineptitude in other aspects?

In my own experience, tortured geniuses are accompanied by starving artists. Both are malicious stereotypes created to entertain our imagination of idealistic, intelligent people facing struggles. Picture a tired young man on the street of New York City, cigarette in hand, a dirty paintbrush propped up by his right ear. He had recently quit his job and become a full-time painter. He is a true creative genius, just a little held back by finances, but don’t worry — he might get noticed by a big gallery, blow up on social media, or he might give up completely!

Two years ago, I interviewed a 30-year-old painter who had quit her day job. We discussed the socioeconomic reality of being a full-time creative, and there was one sentence I could never forget:

Most people don't think that artists are serious. I don't wanna say that they're not thoughtful because I think a lot of people think that artists are very philosophical in a certain way, but not in a way that is serious or respectable. They are pot smokers or acid takers or wishy-washy lazy people who like to think about stuff and not work.

People only see the ends of the spectrum — the starving artist struggling to make a living, and the Jeff Koons making millions of dollars.

Why must we worship Andy Warhol while dismissing the new generation of young creatives? Why do we fit personalities into a box and call them starving artists, the same way we consume tortured geniuses for our own entertainment?

My discussion with the anonymous painter continued:

Once you've made it then they're like, oh yeah, it's awesome, I respect your rags to riches story, but it didn't have to be rags! If you had supported from the beginning, it didn't have to be so rough.

I don’t know why artists and geniuses must be tortured, and it intrigues me to see overlaps in their stereotypical makeup. Perhaps some of it comes from autobiographical truth.

Take the example of arguably the most famous “tortured” artist of the 20th century: during his lifetime, Vincent van Gogh was impoverished, isolated, institutionalized, and died from attempted suicide. People are intrigued by his personality, swarm to see his works at museum all over the world, and produce documentaries to showcase his hardships.

We love geniuses. We are impressed by how different they are from us, because we feel so ordinary. We place them under the spotlight and watch their struggles with morbid fascination…

That's it for my train of thought.