Artemis

I'm a bisexual anti-capitalist, artist, & aspiring propagandist. We're not free until we're *all* free.

Guillermo del Toro fan account. Anarchist pep-talks are provided free of charge. Solidarity forever!

Profile pic & banner are images of GI Robot from Creature Commandos

#nobot

Location: In your dreams
Pronouns: she/her, they/them

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Last Notes

2026-08-28 14:27:07 UTC

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I may be exclaiming in my emails & letters about how strange it is they won't just answer these easy questions, but I know full well that they are probably going to be silent for a while yet, even IF I someday squeeze something from them.
I'm trying to make them do something they really don't want to do. It's not easy. I don't even know if it's possible, but a person can have hobbies & aspirations.

2026-08-26 21:23:14 UTC

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I will try to use any means I can to protect trans folks, but I'm not going to become a defender of the very system built to harm them in the process.
The trans genocide is happening RIGHT NOW. In some states, people have protection, but in many they don't, & persecuting trans people & denying them appropriate medical care & the right to exist in their own bodies however they want KILLS. So what the FUCK are the Dems in Congress fucking doing? Kids are DYING (not just kids either).

2026-08-26 20:54:25 UTC

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But y'all, we *cannot* afford to shut up about the politicians that are selling us out.
I said we can't use the political system to solve the crises that face us—the ones that MUST be addressed—but you know what the system CAN be used for? Grave & grievous harm. And if we only talk about part of the political spectrum, then we're NEVER going to get people to understand what exactly these fucking oligarch's puppets are doing to us.

2026-08-26 20:54:25 UTC

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Personally, I don't believe we can work within this system to repair the damage this system has done, BUT it would be useful in the short-term if we could have some actually honest folks who will actually work to help people in political office. It won't solve the crisis, but it could alleviate some pain.
So I get that. It's why I got excited for Francesca Hong. I thought "this woman might actually do some good & might actually try to represent me." I thought that would be kind of neat.

2026-08-26 19:25:53 UTC

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I mean seriously, they get to just decide that they don't need to hear ANYTHING AT ALL from the general public, & we're supposed to accept & respect that choice?
I don't. I simply don't. I don't think that a campaign like this has any right to shut us out & not even try to talk to us. They don't. And I am making it clear in my communications that this is no longer about having a question or two: this is about whether David Crowley will listen to people.

2026-08-26 19:00:14 UTC

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Looking at the number of emails I sent to the Crowley campaign that were possibly seen by someone (we can safely assume those sent to the "info" email only were not read), & the fact that they can only have received only one or two of my letters so far, I can see how they would have been assuming I was just a loudmouth who would eventually go away.
Foolish fucking assumption, but I see how it could happen.
PRETTY SURE I just cleared up that misunderstanding.

2026-08-26 18:56:25 UTC

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It's actually NOT as high a volume of emails as you would think, because I started off slow. I left a LOT of voicemails, but no one is listening to those—I am sure of it.
But when you add in all the OTHER emails to OTHER people AND letters too (which I just forwarded to the Crowley campaign), I think the picture becomes a lot clearer.
They were only seeing my communications to THEM, so I don't think they realized the full scale of my dedication.

2026-08-26 13:27:36 UTC

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It's not like I've found a smoking gun, but I am building a bigger picture. The bigger the picture & the more detailed, the more likely you are to find something actually interesting.
And if you're doing what I'm doing right now, you'll almost certainly find a few new points of contact at least.

2026-08-26 13:22:47 UTC

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When researching anything thoroughly, PDFs (of meeting minutes, financial filings, & more) found through Google are your friend. That's where you'll find leads & connections.
Often the documents themselves are kind of irrelevant, but if you're researching a person, for instance, you may stumble across something that gives you the name of a business they own or work for, which opens up a whole new line of inquiry.

2026-08-20 12:03:11 UTC

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Evidence that I'm bad at waiting: I never would have found this out if the Crowley campaign had just returned my emails. I saw this guy cited as a spokesperson for the Crowley campaign & decided to look him up to see if he had contact info since the Crowley campaign contact info seems to go nowhere, & the first thing I found was his fucking LinkedIn, showing that he works for the County.
What the fucking fuck? Milwaukee County seems to be paying for David Crowley's personal hype man.

2026-08-19 16:56:16 UTC

RE: https://dice.camp/@artemis/117117516136667128
Called today & left a friendlier message. Said I would love to talk to someone about why I should vote for David Crowley & why he thinks I should encourage other people to vote for him.
I am not expecting a response.
There are a bunch of fundraising texts being sent out supposedly in support of Crowley's campaign, but when you reach out to the campaign for more info about him, they do not respond to phone messages or emails using the contact info on his campaign website.
#note13k5…jc24

2026-08-18 16:44:34 UTC

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I literally left a voicemail with my phone number & told them they could call me back to convince me why to vote for David Crowley.
Do you think I'll get a response?

2026-08-12 16:04:20 UTC

"The Price of Eggs" Carsie Blanton.
Speaking of how we make change....
https://youtube.com/watch?v=ZhCi_AssQMg

2026-08-12 14:38:01 UTC

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Let's be clear: the messaging being spread around those "questionable" social media posts was not actually about the content of the posts.
People weren't talking about them & debating the actual opinions expressed. That wasn't how this story got told. They were just telling you to be scared that their very *existence* would lose elections. They created the loss out of fears about *optics*, not out of a difference of opinion.
Fretting about "optics" is a good way to fucking lose.

2026-08-12 14:34:57 UTC

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"But but optics!"
Shut tf up about optics. The Democratic Socialist candidate just lost BECAUSE people wouldn't shut up about optics.
Playing the "optics" game is admitting defeat.

2026-08-11 16:47:32 UTC

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Like, thanks for letting me know that you think of real people's lives as fiction, I guess.
You can say that "regular" people don't care or know anything about trans people, but...some "regular" people are trans, & a lot of the rest of us know & love trans people.
Transness is not a fun game for rich kids to play. Most trans people aren't well-off & privileged, so why on Earth would caring about their well-being be just for "out of touch", privileged individuals?

2026-08-11 12:54:52 UTC

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It's bad logic. The one thing doesn't follow from the other.
The mere presence of Republican voters doesn't tell you *anything* about what Democratic voters want.
You can't just say "it's a 'purple' state so left-wing candidates can't win," because that is conflating separate things.
I don't know what will happen in the general election. Literally nobody does. I can tell you though: Democrats need Democratic voters to like the candidate. Republicans won't be voting for them.

2026-08-11 12:43:21 UTC

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I live in Wisconsin, a state where a bunch of Republican donors came in & cooked up a strategy for a Republican takeover that destroyed our infrastructure & public services, demolished an excellent school system, & has allowed corporations to do untold amounts of damage to our communities.
Perhaps those of us in favor of public services are going to be LESS inclined to be "moderate" due to our anger at this devastation. Why would anyone assume that would make us lean right?

2026-08-05 15:28:44 UTC

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The scenario is very cliche, but the mental practice of hoping & praying that I would have moral courage in the face of authoritarian injustice turns out to have been more important than I had any idea.
I wasn't expecting my adulthood to be defined by the need to resist fascism, but I was raised to be patriotic, so it's safe to say I didn't "get it" yet.

2026-08-05 14:17:09 UTC

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I'm an optimist about a lot of stuff, but as someone else pointed out in the replies...the truth is that some of us are going to get into trouble.
Sometimes you have to make difficult choices that may result in bad outcomes for you.
Don't take risks just for the heck of it. Be strategic, be smart, think about what may happen. But in the process of fighting our oppressors, a lot of us are going to get hurt. There really isn't a way around that. There is no safe revolution.

2026-08-05 13:43:56 UTC

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God. I just love it when someone displaces their discomfort with a thing onto the people they consider "less privileged".
"No, really, it's my concern for THEM that makes me a rule follower."
Nah.

2026-08-05 13:34:08 UTC

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So let's be clear: when I tell you to disobey authority on the regular, it is not my own galaxy-brained idea, fresh out of my own head.
It is not a concept born from my privilege. It's something I'm learning from people who live it.
I mean...think about it. Ask Palestinians if they disobey. Ask poor Black folks. Ask unhoused people. Under oppression, disobedience is necessary.

2026-08-05 13:15:23 UTC

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Jesus. That IS what they meant. They think disobedience is a privilege.
Watch a Boots Riley movie, please. Fucking do something that will make you understand that poor, marginalized communities are fucking *experts* at disobedience.

2026-08-05 13:10:51 UTC

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And I certainly won't be letting anyone make the claim that disobedience is a luxury for the privileged.
It is not. Disobedience is a common way that marginalized people resist their oppression on the daily. Disobedience is an essential part of survival in a world where the "authorities" would rather you didn't exist. Privileged folks are usually by far the most uncomfortable with casual, habitual disobedience.

2026-08-05 12:39:54 UTC

Something I love about the "good people disobey bad laws" pin I have on my purse is that if someone sees it & gets offended by what they believe I'm trying to say, they can't argue with me about it.
It would be very hard to get far in a conversation trying to make the case that "good people should obey bad laws".
I think it's a good mental seed to plant. It's not telling anyone what to do. It's just gently pointing out that disobedience is a virtue sometimes.

2026-07-30 14:52:58 UTC

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You have to accept when watching The Northman that whatever you feel morally about the actions of the characters, you are getting a window into other moral systems, other ways that humans have injected meaning into the world & distinguished between "good & bad".
It feels brutal (because it is), but it also feels real. If you want to actually understand the characters in his historical settings, then you have to understand the cultures that form them. He won't give you a modern hero.

2026-07-29 12:56:08 UTC

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People who have never spent any time even *thinking* about what it means to translate a poem into another language & culture sharing angry opinions about the "right" way to do it are showing themselves to be clueless boors.

2026-07-29 12:10:41 UTC

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The problem is not necessarily inherent to people but comes from attitudes about driving that are competitive, which is the real problem, imo.
I don't think driving has to be competitive. I think car culture needlessly encourages that competitiveness, but changing that culture is a much bigger problem than just the zipper merge.

2026-07-29 11:36:42 UTC

I kind of want to start a national advertising campaign to teach people why they should zipper merge where the lane ends, not get over a mile beforehand.
A lot of people think it's "rude" to go all the way up to the end & merge when traffic is backed up, but not using all lanes is *why* traffic gets so backed up in those scenarios.
Use all lanes until the lane ends. Then cars in the lane being merged with should take turns. This creates a better traffic flow.

2026-07-28 19:41:58 UTC

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Getting into the specificity of any of those things would alienate *someone*. Taking a particular perspective or zooming in on some specific facet of the themes at play would risk presenting the viewer with something they don't agree with, don't want to accept, or don't feel like thinking about.
The lack of specificity is the appeal. It makes his films "universal", not by tapping into the depths of human experience but by paying lip-service to some of the simplest moral ideas of our age.

2026-07-28 19:19:07 UTC

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That's why I think it matters whether a "serious" film supports its own premise or whether it relies on appealing to the pre-existing feelings of its audience: getting caught up in how good it feels to have your own thoughts "confirmed" is a fucking dangerous mental habit.
Sometimes it's "harmless" or even "a good message", but it can teach you to be satisfied & comfortable with whatever it is that you "know" & believe. You can come to feel that you don't need external input or reality-checks.

2026-07-28 19:11:35 UTC

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In my religious circles growing up, people passed around "wisdom" about how important it was for men to be in charge, & since this conformed to what everyone was already conditioned to believe, it passed for a topic worthy of deep exploration, even though it's a bigoted idea based on nothing but the "logic" of patriarchy. It felt true, so it was true.
No one needed convincing. It was obviously a Deep, Important Truth.

2026-07-28 18:58:26 UTC

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Some people convince you that they are a genius by making you feel like one.

2026-07-28 16:15:48 UTC

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Michael Shannon's character in The Shape of Water could probably be said to share quite a few characteristics with many Nolan protagonists.
HE is the "great man" of that film, representing patriarchal power (& exploitation, as we find out that dedicating his life to it does NOT entitle him to the loyalty of those above him on the hierarchy).
He is the powerful, decisive man who defines the world around him & bends it to himself. He's also the fucking face of evil, the monster of the film.

2026-07-28 15:10:00 UTC

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But of course, if you want to make a blockbuster, then including scenes that make audiences uncomfortable, that people *don't* enjoy seeing, is probably something you want to avoid.
That's one of the things with Nolan: he will never give you more than you can handle. That's part of his popularity. He won't ever make you dwell in serious discomfort.

2026-07-28 15:05:34 UTC

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I think Nolan's chosen theme of Odysseus feeling regret about enabling brutality basically *demanded* uncomfortable depictions of violence that never, ever came.
Yes, I see that I have a higher than average tolerance, but I do think SOMETHING somewhere in that film needed to cross the line into something people really don't want to look at.
If we can't handle even the *slightest* taste of the violence this movie is supposedly about, how are we meant to process it?

2026-07-28 14:55:46 UTC

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Was it silly for me to think that the violence in The Odyssey should make you want to cover your eyes & squirm in your seat just a little?
I'm not talking gore-fest. It just would have been nice if my toes had curled *one time*.
For whatever reason, I have the scene from Pan's Labyrinth in my head where the Captain has his cheek slashed. Relative to a lot of movie violence, that's actually still fairly tame, but oh it makes me squirm nonetheless, even with it happening to a character I HATE!

2026-07-28 14:32:03 UTC

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He tacks on an awkward, very modern moral to give it a feeling of "depth", but he doesn't explore it.
He never explores his themes.
Often discussions about Nolan's works seem to me to involve people importing their OWN insights into the films, not realizing that it is them & not him doing the heavy-lifting.

2026-07-28 14:32:03 UTC

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It's like "if that were in the film, it would be an interesting or even profound reflection. Unfortunately, the text of the film simply doesn't support that. That's you having more interesting thoughts on this topic than Chris Nolan has, & you're reshaping the narrative of the film to support *your* actually interesting thought."
Like, if you find profundity in Chris Nolan's films, I think you aren't giving yourself enough credit for being cleverer than he is.

2026-07-28 14:32:02 UTC

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In a sense, I feel I am almost being "unfair" to Nolan, because I am literally saying that The Odyssey is a perfectly normal Hollywood film. It's so Hollywood.
I don't think Nolan has ever given any indication that he wants to attempt to rise above that. Arguably, his desire is to make the MOST Hollywood films that ever existed.

2026-07-28 14:18:55 UTC

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I expected The Odyssey to be an epic in the artistic vein of The Lord of the Rings or Dune movies, but to me it much more closely resembles the "sword & sandals" event movies that the old Hollywood studio system loved so much (parodied hilariously in the Coen Brothers film Hail Caesar).
It feels every bit as historically-informed as those films were (not much) but even more self-serious.
It is a film that pretends to show another time & place but which never challenges you with the unfamiliar.

2026-07-28 14:12:16 UTC

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I've seen Nolan described as a "Victorian filmmaker," & I think that applies especially well to this film. Victorians *loved* rewriting history in their own image. It's probably a defining feature of Victorian culture: English imperialists pretending that the whole world belongs to them.

2026-07-28 13:11:48 UTC

Spent a while yesterday looking through the Art of Andor book, & damn is it amazing!
They designed every little thing, every location, object, article of clothing. It explains why it was astronomically expensive to make that show, but also why it felt so whole & real & grounded despite the space fantasy of it all.
The art collected in the book goes to show that in every episode, in every scene, everything was planned meticulously. Every costume, every location, it's all there!

2026-07-27 19:27:19 UTC

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In Nolan's worlds, there are little people & there are important people. While Odysseus feels bad about how his actions impacted the little people, he's not one of them. He *matters*. He is *special*.
Even when viewed through a negative light, even in terms of guilt: Odysseus is guilty because Odysseus is important. Odysseus impacts things, not like his men. Odysseus chooses. They stumble around foolishly.

2026-07-27 19:17:04 UTC

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Dear Chris Nolan, I am so sorry that the indecent, evil, & exploitative behavior of the obscenely wealthy has exposed "society" as a "might makes right" hierarchy & therefore is causing the breakdown of the secure "order" which makes you, a wealthy white man, feel safe in your bed at night.
Other people were never safe, so you just look like a whiny little bitch when you suggest we need to get back to Order & Decency. "Civilizations" which depend on oppression & hierarchy *should* fucking fall.

2026-07-27 18:23:32 UTC

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Based on the world presented in the film, a world of child sacrifices & marauding warriors, there was never a peaceful golden age of civilization & decency.
So why the lament at its "collapse"? What reason are we given to believe that it ever existed?
I call it fascist, because that is a key component of fascist, nationalistic propaganda: the notion that once upon a time there was an age "where men were men & women were women" & all was right, even though they know full well it is a fiction.

2026-07-27 17:46:18 UTC

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I keep coming back to Robert Eggers' The Northman for what this film could have been.
Eggers does not flinch at depicting the brutality of the culture in which his story is grounded. The audience is asked to really look at it & accept it as fact. The viewer is not expected to *like* what they see, but they are expected to deal with their own discomfort.
Eggers doesn't provide a modern moral to his film, but through his depiction, he brings a much older culture into conversation with our own.

2026-07-27 17:37:21 UTC

Emily Wilson, author of an acclaimed recent translation of Homer's Odyssey, manages to contextualize issues with Nolan's film as an adaptation in ways that I could not.
She really gets to the ambivalence at the middle of this film. Nolan wants to have everything both ways with regards to Odysseus' guilt & culpability.
https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v48/n14/emily-wilson/an-uncomplicated-man

2026-07-27 16:46:28 UTC

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Thanks! I like that in this context, since it is an introductory page. Album cover vibes work great.

2026-07-26 21:37:55 UTC

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The fun thing about painting the first page & inside cover together is that as the book gets handled, it'll crack & wear.

2026-07-26 21:00:50 UTC

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While I wait for that layer to dry, I'm beginning work on book #2.
https://cdn.masto.host/dicecamp/media_attachments/files/116/988/290/673/433/097/original/593a9cba3a0e79c9.jpg

2026-07-26 18:37:04 UTC

In progress on the final pages of this little sketchbook.
There are 3 or 4 other pages I need to return to finalize, but once I finish these two, the book is full!
This book (80 sheets) represents a 7 month journey of creativity & expression: acrylic markers & paints, tempera paint sticks, watercolor, ink, colored pencil & collage.
#MakingArt
https://cdn.masto.host/dicecamp/media_attachments/files/116/987/725/341/718/476/original/9a008f694b0ba942.jpg

2026-07-24 17:30:12 UTC

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Honestly, I don't think anyone who attended a posh British boarding school should adapt The Odyssey. I'm sure Nolan read it at school through the perspective of British Imperialism, & he probably has *never* engaged with the text in a truly humble mode.

2026-07-24 13:15:11 UTC

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Make monsters monstrous again!
I'm really, truly bothered that there was not a single moment when watching this movie that made me squirm in my seat or want to cover my eyes. Not a single goddamn thing that was depicted in this movie ever made me feel even the least bit uncomfortable.
What is the point of an Odyssey that is only "larger than life" by the size of the screen in the theater?

2026-07-22 19:01:26 UTC

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Always live your life in a way that makes fascists wish they could throw you in jail.
If they don't wish they were rid of people like you, you're doing something wrong.

2026-07-22 16:41:34 UTC

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I think it is theoretically possible for us to have allies working within the political system, if they are not bought or otherwise forced to bend the knee & compromise.
The biggest problem I see with "progressive reformers" in politics is when they condemn those who operate outside of the political system to create change. In that case they become agents of the system whose purpose is to hinder progress through discouraging direct action or rebellion against injustice.

2026-07-22 13:54:10 UTC

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I don't believe a candidate is actually anti-fascist unless they are pushing for prison reform.

2026-07-22 13:34:34 UTC

WISCONSIN RESIDENTS:
Tuesday, August 11 is the Democratic primary for the governor's race. Please mark your calendar & take time to vote for Francesca Hong.
Her campaign's policy page should tell you why.
https://francescahong.com/policy/

2026-07-21 16:15:14 UTC

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Training people to think "I will check the single reliable source that has all the answers for me" seems like a recipe for creating authoritarian followers.
Authoritarian followers don't want to experience uncertainty & run to their "authorities" to avoid discomfort. Teaching people to expect immediate, confident answers from a centralized source to every question may have absolutely disastrous effects.

2026-07-20 14:17:15 UTC

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As much as I would disagree with the Nolan "super fans", I don't think it's even them who frustrate me when it comes to these guys.
While I think his filmmaking skill is overrated & that *a certain subset* of his fans tend towards an annoying level of pseudo-intellectualism (SOME not ALL), I don't think that there's much point in arguing with someone that they shouldn't love certain films just because I personally find them a bit deficient.
That would be rather mean-spirited.

2026-07-20 13:34:10 UTC

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That's not bad, but the only thing a Nolan film ever makes me think about is the mechanics of the premise & how it is applied to the plot.
"Did the top fall? Was he still in the dream world?" is really the least interesting question you could come away from a movie about shared, active dreaming with. A question about what factually happened to one character.
Inception doesn't invite reflection on the weirder elements of the human psyche. In fact, it avoids those elements entirely.

2026-07-17 20:08:15 UTC

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Here's the big one:
>"But my immediate reaction was... I asked, did she know who it was? No. What colour were they? She said it was a black person. I went up and down areas with a cosh, hoping I'd be approached by somebody - I'm ashamed to say that - and I did it for maybe a week, hoping some [uses air quotes with fingers] 'black bastard' would come out of a pub and have a go at me about something, you know? So that I could kill him."
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-47117177

2026-07-17 17:31:57 UTC

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I don't think the film suggests that there is any place for him, & an unfortunate implication of the plot is that if the heroine had not been kind to him & looked out for him, he might not have engaged in much of the violence he did.

2026-07-17 17:28:04 UTC

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Perhaps. I have found Shyamalan more fun, but I've really soured extra hard on him after rewatching The Village recently which I remembered really enjoying but discovered is so fucking disturbingly ableist. The Visit likewise.

2026-07-17 16:23:24 UTC

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My feeling is that his tendency to centre everything may hinder his ability to create contrast in the edit.
It allows for continuity because the eye is always in the same place, but thanks to that, transitions may not feel particularly meaningful, & he may struggle with creating visual emphasis or juxtaposing specific things through cutting from one to another.
If nearly everything is dead center, then the edit can't take advantage of the movement of your eye.

2026-07-17 15:10:50 UTC

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If it wasn't bad enough to cast a white man to play Ra's al Ghul, Nolan had to pick a fucking violent racist.

2026-07-17 14:59:25 UTC

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Frankly, a lot of what Nolan gets praised for often sounds like "It's a premium format, & I could tell it was very expensive to make." 😬

2026-07-17 14:42:19 UTC

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This tendency to have a short shot length may be part of why he didn't think the costumes for The Odyssey needed detail.
I haven't seen that film, but if it follows his other filmography, the camera probably rarely invites you to take in detail, instead moving from image to image, shot to shot, at a brisk pace.
The costumes look shit when you stop & look, but my guess would be that The Odyssey rarely does, unless it's a departure from his usual habits.

2026-07-17 13:16:09 UTC

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What do you think? Do you think putting everything smack dab in the middle of the frame is Nolan's default? How do you think this compares with the styles of other "auteur" filmmakers?
If you see this tendency in Nolan, how do you feel about it? Do you like it or even prefer it? Or does it put you off?
My first thoughts are that it seems safe, boring, & maybe a wee bit lazy artistically, but I dunno. A lot of people *really* like his style & think his films look incredible.

2026-07-17 13:03:08 UTC

Listening to Christopher Nolan talk about how he didn't worry about all the different aspect ratios The Odyssey will be shown in because all of the important stuff happens in the center of the frame (or "centre" I suppose he might say), I have developed a hypothesis that needs testing.
Hypothesis: throughout Nolan's filmography whatever is most significant in the shot will be centered by the camera the vast majority of the time.

2026-07-16 14:07:24 UTC

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Or if not cramped, then certainly not visually unique. It looks like any other action film when cropped down for other formats.
I had not seen the trailer with the full uncropped image in the correct aspect ratio, & it looks better than the formats I previously watched the trailers in (in theater & on YouTube). I see how visually engaging the film might appear when seen that way.
Almost no one will see the film in that format though, not even IMAX theater-goers.

2026-07-16 13:31:17 UTC

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Okay, nah... After looking at a comparison of all the different ways The Odyssey might be cropped depending on the format you see it in, I'm really thinking this will *really* not look like the same movie to everyone.
https://movieweb.com/the-odyssey-viewing-formats-compared/

2026-07-15 17:58:49 UTC

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Like, if we're going to praise it for its grandeur & weight, then it is packed with substance right down to the little details, right?
Maybe it's just a rollicking good time, in which case, such careful detail is not so necessary, but if this is supposed to be Nolan's entry into epic filmmaking in the vein of The Fellowship of the Ring or Dune, then we can expect richness & depth even in its minutiae, can't we?

2026-07-15 17:53:54 UTC

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Personally, I just can't imagine being impressed by this movie in the way that I am by, say, The Fellowship of the Ring.
It seems to be hailed as Nolan's finest work, something sweeping & huge & significant.
But will people be eating up this movie in glorious detail decades from now?

2026-07-15 17:51:00 UTC

I'm such a whiney, persnickety bitch today (as previously stated, whining about pop culture is a stand-in for freaking out over much more distressing bullshit, but I'm reading these glowing, 98% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, & I can't find any evidence that those fucking cheap-ass costumes look better on screen than they do in the stills we've already seen.
What a thing to be mad about, right? But lazy costuming in an "epic" movie just fucking pisses me the hell off, ok?

2026-07-15 14:57:19 UTC

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I'm getting curious about pre-production & I found that Nolan's wife & producer, Emma Thomas, was reported as saying this in late May of 2024:
>I would say it’s very exciting. This is the moment where the possibilities are sort of limitless, we haven’t started thinking practicalities, or anything,”
Filming began in February 2025, but by June of 2024 they "hadn't started thinking practicalities."
So when did pre-production for this "epic" even fucking start?

2026-07-15 14:34:37 UTC

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At what point in pre-production did costume design even begin in earnest?
For an epic "historical"/fantasy piece, it should be anticipated that costuming will be *extremely* time consuming & require a great deal of resources.
That's the nature of the beast.

2026-07-15 14:31:05 UTC

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One thing I wonder is whether Nolan failed to even consider how much time & effort the costumes for a film like this would require, both the detail for the main cast & the at least passable costuming for background/extras.
The Prestige was a period piece, but even then, it's unlikely that *everything* needed to be designed & made from scratch. Oppenheimer is also technically a period piece but I am SURE they did not have to fabricate all of the costumes for that.

2026-07-15 14:25:15 UTC

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Costume designer for The Odyssey:
"working on it was the most spectacular, singular experience."
"Audiences will be blown away.
"He built one of the most extraordinary worlds I’ve ever seen in my career."
"If you go to see it, you will go on the ride of your life."
And the costumes? What was the process of designing them like? What did you try to accomplish or avoid? How does the costuming contribute to the story being told?

2026-07-15 14:00:01 UTC

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Movies that master both the big & epic & the small & intimate are pretty great though.
Jackson's Fellowship of the Ring comes to mind (personally, my favorite of the trilogy). There are lots of big shots that invoke awe & wonder, but it's not just those shots that look fucking amazing. The rest of the film is also a visual feast.

2026-07-15 13:44:01 UTC

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Honestly, it feels to me that the shit Nolan is best at is the shit that people perceive as "singular genius."
He's not known for the performances of his actors. He's not known for detailed & creative production design. He's known for his little plot-puzzles/surprises (did the top fall? Is whats-his-name still in a dream?) & big, fancy IMAX shots.

2026-07-15 13:36:28 UTC

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To me, Nolan's work—even when it is visually stunning—typically feels pretty lifeless.
Other than Ledger's Joker, which a) should be credited to Heath Ledger & b) was greatly mythologized due to the circumstances of his death, I can't really think of *characters* from Nolan's films that anyone speaks of with excitement.

2026-07-15 13:29:18 UTC

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He's never struck me as an "actor's director", & that's my preference in a filmmaker.
I like directors who really help the actors shape & envision their characters so that their performances are dynamic & true-to-life (at least "true-to-life" within the world of the film.
Films that look cool but aren't anchored in dynamic performances from actors who inhabit & breathe life into the film don't do it for me. In my experience Nolan is not good at getting those kinds of performances in his films.

2026-07-15 13:29:18 UTC

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He is capable of interesting set-pieces, but I find his characters largely underdeveloped.
Maybe that has improved in the films since I gave up on him. The last film of his I watched was Interstellar, & I must admit that I gave up in boredom before the end, so I cannot judge the work as a whole, because I couldn't be arsed to watch it in its entirety.

2026-07-14 20:48:28 UTC

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I'm just tired of the cynicism of the film industry. I'm tired of the "movie as product".
I'm tired of the Singular Genius directors who can't seem to be bothered to foster art that is alive, that feels loved by its creators.
It's fucking exhausting.
What's the fucking point? Big spectacle? Who cares?

2026-07-14 17:35:44 UTC

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Maybe that's just a bad impression & the real thing will dispel that notion, but I currently am wondering what the hell all the fancy technical stuff is for if it's capturing less than stellar detail.

2026-07-14 17:35:44 UTC

Ok, but explain to me, when the armor looks like cheap molded plastic, what the extreme high definition is for in Nolan's Odyssey.
Based on what we've seen in trailers & production images, it doesn't look like deep care was given to creating costumes & sets with depth & detail.

2026-07-14 13:16:34 UTC

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Seriously, from everything I've seen, this movie is likely hijacking ancient Greek culture to fit with a mythology of "Western" greatness that reeks of underlying white supremacy & Imperialism.
Matt Damon is Odysseus? Tom Holland is his son? They filmed a bunch in Scotland & used Viking longboats?
Yeah, I don't think conservatives need to be so fucking worried about a Black Helen of Troy. This movie seems likely to be a fundamentally a "conservative" work.

2026-07-14 13:16:34 UTC

Racism is fucking ridiculous because they are like "you can't cast Lupita Nyong'o as the most beautiful woman in the world," & it's like, I'm pretty sure a whole lot of people have agreed she's literally one of the most beautiful people they have ever seen.
I'm not interested in watching a Christopher Nolan film, but casting one of the most beautiful people in the real world as one of the most beautiful people in a world of fiction seems like a fucking tame choice.

2026-07-13 12:26:17 UTC

The Harry Potter fandom Wiki includes "blood status" as the second element on a character's "biographical information".
It's giving "wizard Nazi".
I get why within this story-world "blood status" is occasionally relevant: bigotry & targeted violence are often based on someone's "blood status" (or perceived status), but to list it as part of basic biographical information is to legitimize it in a weird way.
(I searched a character from the Harry Potter play out of vague plot curiosity).
https://cdn.masto.host/dicecamp/media_attachments/files/116/912/657/269/863/544/original/a1d018ce5ebaa1c6.png

2026-07-09 12:06:02 UTC

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I feel really bad for the kids in these situations, but like...
Why are some men so fucking bad at considering the consequences of their choices? You asked to have responsibility for the kids full time? Why are you surprised about what you got?
A) don't ask for something you don't want. You might get it.
B) Think about what would happen if you did get what you asked for.

2026-07-08 14:38:52 UTC

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Beautiful things are often delicate. They can be easily crushed.
When I say making space I don't mean endless tolerance of unkind behavior. I mean, obviously I don't, because I'm getting ready to go have a conversation with someone where I say "I don't think you should treat people this way."
But there are so many parts of a person that are just their uniqueness. Not hurtful things. Often surprising though. The only way to find out what's inside is to open up the wrapping paper & let it out.

2026-07-08 13:47:59 UTC

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Yeah, I dunno. Fox/Bestie have complained to me that their husband DM is really performative during sex & doesn't seem to be comfortable, & it's kind of like...could that be because you demand a performance from him?

2026-07-07 21:17:06 UTC

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But you know, maybe it's a good thing for everyone that I'm a bit hung up on this.
There's a possibility for a better outcome for everyone involved. I do not like the thought of being in any way confrontational with Fox (& especially not with Bestie), but I'm probably the right one to open this conversation, because this is where I fit in my relationships.
I'm the one that doesn't let problem behavior go unaddressed. I can bring it up with her, & maybe something good will come of it.

2026-07-07 14:14:59 UTC

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That apparently is radically transformative.
I mostly have sex with penis-havers (because of convenience & availability of sexual partners), & I'm starting to suspect that the reason I have gotten that response from several people now is that penis-havers often don't get to experience full sexual acceptance.
Sex is so much BETTER when everyone feels safe, accepted, & heard.

2026-07-07 12:16:46 UTC

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And see... The thing about being the slut at the sex party is that sluts don't have to ask anyone for attention.
They are *given* attention, because if you're going after giving maximum pleasure to whomever however, that tends to draw the other participants in.
Hence how I ended up on my knees with 3 dicks in front of me.

2026-07-07 12:16:44 UTC

Asked my friend (bestie's husband) over to talk a bit about my feelings about our group sex on Saturday. Me, Spouse, bestie, bestie's husband, & bestie's other partner got together & had an orgy. This was our second time doing this, & the last one was a while ago.
It was in honor of bestie's birthday, & I thought beforehand that she just wanted to do some group sex for her birthday. I didn't realize until we were there that she had specific ideas about how she wanted things to be.

2026-07-05 13:59:01 UTC

Reading a long series of interactions of several people with a reply guy in someone else's replies, & it's amazing that this person is telling everyone that they missed their point.
Bud, if everyone is "misunderstanding" you it's likely that either a) you are not communicating your point in a way other people can understand or b) (more likely) YOU don't understand the point you're making & think it has merit & makes sense, & it doesn't
Or c) you're just full of shit. That one's very common.

2026-07-02 17:34:27 UTC

RE: https://dice.camp/@artemis/116851392694241031
I see people criticizing James Gunn even for creative decisions which I strongly think he allowed the people actually making this movie to decide on.
I'm pretty sure he doesn't mind being the one taking the heat for what people don't like. But when people blame him for everything they don't like about this movie, they are saying he *should* be the studio dictator controlling every DC project lest anything not meet exact audience expectations.
#note1aqq…k8ru

2026-07-02 14:42:48 UTC

RE: https://dice.camp/@artemis/116850872786759058
Land Back because we need to start over & actually take care of the world around us.
Europeans showed up to North America & were like "look at this pristine, untouched wilderness" completely ignoring the fucking human beings who had been acting as caretakers instead of simply extracting resources.
"Untouched"? No, touched by plenty of human hands...just not by colonizers.
#note1jrm…mxps