Making Me A Fighter

     The Katy Perry phase I mentioned in my last post was centered around one song in particular, "Who Am I Living For?" I'd be lying if I said this wasn't because the lyrics reminded me so much of Daenerys Targaryen, the most empowering character of all-time ever and my khaleesi for the rest of my days, from the HBO show Game of Thrones and George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire book series.

I mean, look at these lyrics:

"It's never easy to be chosen, never easy to be called,

Standing on the front lines when the bombs start to fall. 

I can see the heavens, but I still hear the flames calling out my name."

     Inspired by this, I devised plans for a playlist about Daenerys in my travel journal, originally titled "Dany, Pop Princess." Obviously, the title had to go, but the theme remained the same: empowering pop powerhouses to narrate Daenery's rise to complete badassery.

I'm proud to finally present, Making Me A Fighter.

Making Me A Fighter from reservoirsnogs on 8tracks Radio.

      I'm very proud of this fanmix (which also makes an excellent workout playlist, I might add), and all of the thought I put into selecting each song and determining the order of its appearance. I'm also quite happy with the artwork I designed for it. With that in mind, I'll quickly take you through some of the choices I made.  

Season One

1) Rootless - Marina and the Diamonds. Chosen to match the fleeing of Dany and her brother, "The Beggar King." Though Daenerys expresses a deep desire to go home, nothing resembling 'home' exists anymore.
2) Who Am I Living for? - Katy Perry. Chosen to show the frightening but truthful feeling Dany has that perhaps there is greatness in store for her.

3) Domesticated - VersaEmerge. Chosen because though Daenerys is the wife of a Khal, she was never meant to just be "someone's wife." The Iron Throne is not meant for her brother or her son, even; it's for her.

4) My Blood - Ellie Goulding. Chosen for Dany's decision to trade her son and succumb to dark magic in an effort to save her husband.

5) Drive My Soul - Lights. Chosen for the realization that it is time to let go of her husband, as afraid as she may be.

6) Last Hope - Paramore. Chosen for Daenerys' emergence from the flames with her newborn dragons at the end of Season One.

 

 Season Two 

7) Scared of Lonely - Beyoncé. Chosen for Daenerys' desperation and fear for the death of, or abandonment by, her khalasar at the start of this season. 

8) You've Got Time - Regina Spektor. Chosen because of the lyrics, "Remember all their faces, remember all their voices. Everything is different the second time around." She must appear strong and take risks to save her people. There is no one to save her and her khalasar but Daenerys herself.

9) The Outsider - Marina and the Diamonds. Chosen to show Dany's relationship to Qarth and its people.     

10) Dreams So Real - Metric. Chosen for Daenerys' journey through the House of the Undying. Though she sees strange visions and loved ones from the grave, she must suppress fear and continue on by herself.  

11) Bring Me Down - Kanye West.  Chosen to illustrate Daenery's final push into the realm of a royal mindset. When Pyat Pree, Xaro Xhoan Daxos and (in the show) Doreah think they can betray her, she punishes them ruthlessly and regains her power, along with her dragons. I especially think the lyrics, "They gon' have to take my life before they take my drive, 'cause when I was barely livin', that's what kept me alive" applies to Dany. She came from nothing, and will persevere. 

 Season Three

12) Fighter - Christina Aguilera. If I had to pick one anthem for Daenerys, it would be this. Everything she's been through has made her both badass and fiercely compassionate. She began as a meek little girl, learned to stand up for herself, and evolved into a legendary and insanely inspiring Fighter. 

13) Beat It - Michael Jackson. Chosen to illustrate the way in which men try to fight Daenerys. I love the lyric, "Don't wanna see no blood, don't be a macho man," because Dany always gives men the option to surrender peacefully, but their masculine pride leads to their downfall.

14) Bring the Noize - M.I.A. Mainly chosen for the lyric, "Just 'cause I'm a mum don't make me thick." Daenerys' compassion and motherly character traits only make her stronger, though ignorant opponents perceive them as signs of weakness. And so, she is ready to crush them into dust.

15) One Beat - Sleater-Kinney. Chosen because I find this song to be very empowering. The song instrumentally and vocally sounds so powerful. Lyrics on the topic of rising and discovering don't hurt either.

16) Handlebars - Flobots. Chosen to match the immensity of Daenerys' string of conquers in the last season. If she wants to do something, she will sure as hell achieve it. And with her track record of freeing slaves, stopping rapes, and having an unfailing aura of chosenness throughout the show, the lyrics "my cause is noble, my power is pure" fit all too well.

     Maybe it's strange that I put this much effort into a playlist, but I'm very proud of this creation. I have never been empowered by a character like I have been by Daenerys Targaryen, the impact of which is made even more meaningful by the fact that one time I heard Emilia Clarke say in an interview that if one woman felt empowered by Dany, then she'd done her job. I'm that one woman, and there are thousands of more just like me. I've said it once and I'll say it again: I watch the scene of Daenerys buying and then freeing the army of the Unsullied every time I need to get pumped up for something. Afterward, I feel like I can climb Everest. And I caught up with seasons one and two of Game of Thrones simply because I saw the scene and wanted to know the context surrounding it. Dany means a lot to me, and my love for her keeps swelling as I make my way through the first book. I hope you take a listen and enjoy!

♥ Happy Listening ♥  

The Themizine: Vol. 2

     While Cathy was catching up on and freaking out over Orphan Black, the two of us worked on a new volume of The Themizine. It is mostly music and poem-related, and I like how colorful this ended up being. We made this edition over a week ago... I'm glad that I finally got a chance to scan it into my computer haha. Cathy completed the front cover, the Die Antwoord (psst Cathy has a blogspot now) page, the Annabel Lee panel with the depiction of waves, and the "smart, strong, sensual woman" page, featuring Tina from Bob's Burgers, M.I.A., Jennifer Lawrence, and Beyonce. My lovely and sharpie-happy creations were the "Get Lucky" page, the more wordy Annabel Lee page, the "Bones" panel (as featured in a Game of Thrones trailer), and the back cover.

     Speaking of Game of Thrones, I have been watching A LOT of it lately. I am now three episodes into Season 3. Though I am still put-off by the disproportionate ratio of female to male nudity in the show, the content and the characters are interesting enough to keep my interest. I'm sure the world has alerted you by this point, but Game of Thrones is incredible. And after Cathy showed me comicbookgirl19's Epic Histories, filling in so much of the history that the books delve into but the show does not have time to, I am even more fascinated by this universe. SO GREAT. USE THE SUMMER TO CATCH UP. DO IT. 

Here's the history behind the Targaryen family:

But I digress. Tonight, we began working on the third volume of The Themizine, which will now be lit up with some watercolor thanks to Cathy! I really like how my pages came out. So keep on the look-out for the next edition :)

Details on The Themizine: Vol 2

 
 ♥ Happy Reading ♥

Bates Motel - Episode 1

     First reaction thoughts on A&E's new show, Bates Motel, including pretty unintelligible blurbs about the actors and an examination of rape culture in relation to the show. Oh yeah, BIG TRIGGER WARNING: There is a rape scene in the later half of the episode. I'll talk about that more later on, but I don't want you to be caught off-guard! Though the show is based off Psycho, and violence is to be expected, for some reason I really was not prepared for sexual violence to occur when that guy broke into the Bates' home.

      Also, I don't know why I had assumed that I was way behind the curve on this show, but I thought I was about to construct a review that is completely irrelevant and outdated. However, apparently the season premiere was March 18th and the first episode is the only one that has aired. So yeah... here we go.

     On first thought, I really liked the episode! Unfortunately, I've only seen the first half of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (I know, I'm the worst), so I don't know how quality the show is in comparison to the film. The movie is iconic, so I'm guessing die-hard fans probably don't feel too open to the show's existence. But I don't think the creators are doing a classic re-boot; I think real effort and care is being put into this project. Now note that you're reading from the perspective of a fairly unbiased party, and at that party, I would certainly recommend watching it.The trailers and promotion for this show have had my curiosity for a while now, which is I think why I though I'd long-since aired. But being done with finals, now was the perfect time watch. 

    As you'd probably expect, the show has quite a creepy quality to it; the music sets an ominous tone, the set certainly gives off the vibe of a place filled with "dirty secrets," the relationship between Norman and his mother could easily cross into Oedipus territory, and often the intensity of Freddie Highmore's stare made me uncomfortable, as it should really... Though some of his acting was a tad off in this episode, I think that really is the natural of the character, and I have high hopes for Freddie Highmore in the rest of the season. That kid was captivating in both August Rush and Finding Neverland, before he'd even reached his teens, so I'm sure he will show off his natural talent and acquired skills as the show progresses. 

     But I have to say Vera Farmiga's performance definitely made me the most uneasy, and in turn, made the episode. There is something very volatile about the mother's personality; she hardly reacts at the beginning when faced with her husband's death, she impulsively moves her and Norman around in the quest for a "fresh start," and she trusts absolutely no one and encourages her son to do the same. One moment she'll be tender and joking with her son, saying he is the best thing to ever happen to her, and the next she lets this fade into a sick jealousy, cutting Norman off from the rest of the world. Sometimes she'll seem overjoyed, then a scene later she'll be upset in a way that strikes the viewer as unpredictable. It certainly makes the show fun to watch; I could never tell what her next move would be.

     I don't know if I want to make this an excessively long post about rape culture, but it's been on my mind a lot with the Steubenville rape case itself, and how terrifyingly it was covered by the media. So here's a paragraph, which really makes this review worth reading: 

     After her attack, Norma Bates insists that they cannot call the police because, "This will be public... It will ruin us! It's going to make me a laughing stock!"  That line actually broke my heart. I understand that to report such a case would be bad for business, but to further insist that she does not want people to know because it will make her "a laughing stock" really just SCREAMS the fucked-up horrors of rape culture. Yes, she was raped and then preceded to kill her rapist, and the fact that she believes that will cause people to mock and laugh at her is beyond sickening to me. But it makes sense, considering that is a reality in our society; in fact, our community has responded much fucking worse towards victims who report their assaults. After the rapists of the Steubenville case were rightfully convicted (though not for nearly long enough, nor were they treated harshly enough by the media), Jane Doe got numerous death threats and online harassment about how the situation was entirely her fault. How she robbed her attackers of their "bright" and "promising" futures. The whole thing is appalling to me. Obviously, the show couldn't have planned their premiere to coincide with the emerging of this topic, but I hope maybe people will pause during that scene and just THINK ABOUT WHAT NORMA'S LINE MEANS, not just in the context of the show, but in the context of her as a woman in our present-day society. And maybe this scene, traumatic as it is to watch, will cause the audience to think even more about rape culture, because there are still those who do not believe it exists. Awareness of its actuality will someday lead to its elimination. 

Alright, that's all I got for you right now. I'm not sure where the show is going to go from here, or how Norman Bates will transform from a seventeen year-old who vomits at the guilt of a dead body in his motel bathtub into one of the most iconic killers in cinema history, but I think I will definitely stick around to find out! With school, it's really hard for me to keep up with television shows. But I think this one will be the show I choose to watch weekly, if I possibly can. Great start to the season, and maybe I will update as the weeks progress! (Also, I'm stoked that according to the trailer below, the girl with Cystic Fibrosis may the love interest! That would be cool, wouldn't it?!)

♥ Happy Watching ♥

Ouran High School Host Club: A Mini Review!

     After watching Nanalew's "Anime 101" video and listening to her rave about Ouran High School Host Club, we thought we'd dive into the first two episodes! I loved this series in middle school; still to this day, it is honestly one of the funniest shows I've ever seen. Here are our thoughts after beginning this lovely anime. It's meant to be a video response, but apparently you can't see video responses with the new YouTube format?! Oh well.

I don't really have anything more to say; we accidentally got into the social implications of the show rather than review the show's content... which is not necessarily a bad thing, it was just not the original intent haha. Just know, the show is adorable and hilarious, because I'm sure we didn't stress it enough!

Nanalew's original video: http://youtu.be/KZPKxq92Cp4

Our response!

♥ Happy Watching ♥