It's the school holidays and I was extremely bored, so here's a break down of Loona's new teaser video.
Recently, kpop girl group Loona released a teaser for their upcoming comeback. This marks the end of the current Midnight Festival era and the continuation of the Loonaverse theory, a theory that has been added to since 2016 when the first member was revealed. Because I am a massive Loona fan and also enjoy over-analyzing things, this is a short breakdown of what the teaser tells us about the current state of the Loonaverse.
What is the Loonaverse and who is Loona?
Loona is a kpop group consisting of twelve members. The group debut on August 18th, 2018, however, the group has a long history of pre-debut activities which began way back in September of 2016. Over the course of 2 - 3 years, Loona would reveal each member one-by-one through a series of solo songs, and the now well known "who's next girl?" teaser photos. Alongside releasing solo music, each girl - with the exception of one - would be sorted into 1 of 3 subunits*: Loona 1/3, Odd Eye Circle, and YYXY (Youth Youth by Young). As each member was revealed, they would add to the lore of the Loonaverse until eventually, all twelve members came together in 2018 when the full group officially debut with the title track "Hi High" and mini-album "++".
*A subunit is a mini-unit within a group. Typically only consists of a few members that release music separately from the main group.
The Loonaverse is the universe Loona's music videos take place. The universe takes place on a Mobius strip and consists of three plains with two of the plains being mirrors of each other. Earth and Eden are opposites of each other alongside each girl being opposite of another (i.e girl no.2 will be opposite of girl no.11). The theorized bridge between these two worlds is where the Odd Eye Circle unit is located. Loona 1/3 is located on Earth while YYXY is located in Eden, or at least they were. Throughout the years, Loona has added to the lore of the Loonaverse through references, metaphors, lyrics, juxtaposition, locations, colors, and pretty much any other form of film technique you could possibly think of.
The Loonaverse originally began with the members separate and their pre-debut days tell the story of how they found each other and came together in "Hi High". For their second release, "Butterfly", there was less lore in the music video and more in the teasers. The teasers showed that the members of YYXY had left Eden and were on Earth and looking for each other. "So What" brought in a new, darker era for Loona in which we were shown an alternative timeline which we can call the dark moon timeline. This is because, at the start of the second teaser, we see a moon turn and show the other side along with the words "The back of the moon" which is what we call the dark side of the moon. Throughout the teasers and music video, we see a world in which the members never found each other. At the start of the music video we see the 12th member, Oliva Hye, hold a torch and set fire to the moon along with a white feather on the ground. This white feather represents 3rd member Haseul (her animal is a dove) which signifies her revival. In her music video, she kills an alternate version of herself, so we can assume that the timeline we're in is the one where her alternative self will come back to life. This would also explain her absence from the last two releases which were actually due to her being on a mental health hiatus. Their latest release "Why Not" has very little lore in both the teasers and music video and is mostly full of references to past music videos. Most of what we do see, however, is repeated in the new teaser so I'll just talk about it there.
Also, note, each member has an animal and color that represents them. So above I mentioned Haseul's animal is a dove so, whenever we see a dove or white feather, it represents Haseul. Alongside doves, Haseul's color is green, therefore if we see green we can safely assume it's Haseul. In the new teaser, we see another animal - a butterfly - which represents 11th member Gowon who mirrors 2nd member Hyunjin. Because butterflies represent rebirth, Gowon is previously shown to be trying to revive alternative Haseul. Alongside animals and colors, each unit has it's own assigned thing or place. For the members of Loona 1/3, it's a place (Haseul's is Iceland), Odd Eye Circle's is an odd eye and a superpower, and YYXY is fruits. We see apples appear in the teaser so we know it's Yves as apples are her representative fruit.
The actual teaser
In Loona tradition, on December 30th, 2020, Loona released a teaser for their upcoming comeback temporarily named "New Moon". Loona has a tradition of releasing new teasers to mark the end of promotions for their latest release, and during astronomical events which, in this case, is the new moon.
Just note there are quite a few flashing scenes in this teaser.
The teaser first begins with two scenes from the end of "Why Not?" in which we see 11th member Gowon floating in space looking down at Earth, and 2nd member Hyunjin looking up from Earth. In this teaser, it's revealed the two were looking at each other which makes sense as the two members mirror each other. Then, Hyunjin looks down at a butterfly which represents Gowon as it is her representative animal. The scene then cuts to a burning butterfly which references the first teaser for "So What" which at the time was nicknamed "Burn". As of now, there aren't many theories on what burning butterflies represent in the Loonaverse. (Above photo is of the butterfly in the "Burn" teaser).
In my opinion, I believe it represents one of the member's efforts in preventing Gowon from reviving the Loonaverse. Due to butterflies symbolizing rebirth, and the fact Gowon has been shown previously trying to revive the Loonaverse, one member is possibly preventing that by trying to burn Gowon. If that becomes true, it will most likely be 12th member Oliva Hye who is doing this. Olivia Hye's solo, "Egoist" showcases her anger which is later revealed to be because the three other members of YYXY escaped Eden without her in YYXY's music video for "Love4eva". Oliva Hye is apart of the subunit
YYXY and represents, the final Y in the unit name and logo (left) which show's she is more removed from the unit due to failing to leave Eden. "Egoist" also shows Olivia Hye's fall from Eden and is uses darker colors associated with anger such as red. This contrasts with the other three solo songs for the other members of YYXY where brighter colors are used more often. Throughout the music video, motifs within Loona and YYXY music videos are seen burning such as the uniforms worn by the YYXY girls, a bed, a wolf toy (which is Oliva Hye's animal), and a cassette tape (above right). It's theorized by some that cassette tapes within the Loonaverse represent a member's memories and that by burning them, Olivia Hye is erasing her memories of the Loonaverse and Eden. Another reason for why it may be Olivia Hye preventing the Loonaverse from reviving is that at the start of "So What" she sets fire to the moon/Loonaverse. This follows the pattern of Olivia Hye destroying things associated with the Loonaverse in an effort to destroy it. I don't know if that makes sense but hopefully, it sort of makes sense.
The next set of scenes we see is associated with 9th member Yves and 5th member ViVi. Although these two members don't mirror each other, they are constantly seen together. The first shot of cars is a reference to the "Why Not?" music video in which Yves is surrounded by cars. Then, a series of shots from Yves' music video for her solo "New", more specifically, the scenes she shares with ViVi. In "New", Yves is shown rollerskating and holding hands with ViVi which many believe are the events showcased in ViVi's solo "Everyday I Love You". In ViVi's music video she is seen roller-skating with a boy, supposedly on a date, however, the scenes are hazy, over-saturated, and dream-like and it is widely accepted that this is most likely because ViVi doesn't actually remember the date. In another scene, we see ViVi next to a stack of 5 cassette tapes with 4 of them having the faces of the first 4 members on the cases. The 4th cassette tape has ViVi's face on it and she is shown listening to it implying she is trying to remember something. In "New" Yves is also seen listening to ViVi's cassette tape, however, the case seems to be cracked which would also symbolize how ViVi's memories are cracked. These two scenes imply she is trying to remember a broken memory and explains why the scene with the boy is dream-like. It's fully believed by many that the rollerskating scene in "New" is the reality of this dream-like memory and that the man ViVi is seen rollerskating with is actually Yves. Although this is just one theory, many theories link back to this. We also see ViVi with brown hair instead of her iconic pink/orange hair. Because pink-haired ViVi is believed to be android ViVi and orange hair represents either her pre-android days or post-android days, the brown hair means she is fully human again. She is also seen to be surrounded by apples, Yves' fruit, which mirrors scenes of Yves in "New".
Also, I should probably mention that it's widely theorized that ViVi was originally apart of Odd Eye Circle, however, something happened to cause her to end up on Earth. This is supported by the fact she is the only member outside of Odd Eye Circle with an Odd Eye, and that she *represents the 1 in Loona 1/3. Because she is on Earth instead of the world she's supposed to be (Odd Eye Circle's), she's an android (which is shown in "Love&Live") with fragmented memories of the past. Through the events of "Love&Live" where she learns to love and live, she begins the process of becoming human.
*We know this because of teaser photos released
Android ViVi in "Love&Live"
Our third batch of scenes shows fire and water alongside 1st girl Heejin and Olivia Hye. Due to the Mobius strip being an infinite loop, Heejin not only mirrors Olivia Hye, but the Loonaverse as a whole starts and ends with the two. Fire and water are opposite elements and are most likely there to represent how Heejin and Olivia Hye may be against each other. Due to Heejin being the first girl, many theorize Heejin is some sort of God within the Loonaverse while Olivia Hye is more representative of a character such as Lucifer who opposes God. In "Egoist", Olivia Hye is seen falling from Eden down to Earth and meeting Heejin, meaning the Mobius strip is complete, and things have come full circle. Opposing ideologies of Olivia Hye and Heejin are also shown in "Egoist" using clothing. Heejin is wearing white while Olivia Hye wears black, the two colors are opposites of each other, similar to the clips of fire and water. This would also lean into the God and Lucifer theory mentioned before. The scene of Heejin flashes over and lines up with the end scene of "So What" in which Olivia sets fire to the moon/Loonaverse. We also see the scene of Heejin and Olivia Hye hugging from "Egoist" briefly.
Olivia Hye and Heejin at the end of "Egoist"
Our final batch of scenes includes 10th girl Chuu and 3rd girl Haseul. We see a clip from the end of "Why Not?" in which Chuu is standing on a car looking at the sky. Off to the side, we see what looks like a shooting comment but is actually later revealed to be a plane crashing. This is proven in the next set of clips and it's revealed that the plane crashed in Iceland due to the next clip being of Iceland. Iceland is Haseul's representative place and where she filmed her music video for her solo "Let Me In" in which she kills her alternative self. The music video specifically takes place in a plane wreckage that can be found in Iceland which would line up with the plane crash. Another way we know this is referencing Haseul is the green light that flashes as the clip of Iceland is shown. The scene cuts back to Chuu and then to a clip of Haseul as the green flashing light appears. Many are saying that the clip of Haseul looks familiar and may be an old clip, however, I haven't seen anyone state where the clip is from and I, personally, don't know either.
What does this mean for the Loonaverse?
As of now, I'm unsure. However, it could possibly mean the reunion of ViVi and Yves and the long-awaited return of Haseul. The fact that as of now this new era is known as "New Moon" means that we may see the birth of a new Loonaverse, meaning Gowon's efforts succeded, or a new turn in the concept/musical direction for Loona. Knowing Loona though, we most likely won't have another teaser for a couple of weeks however, I'm extremely excited, especially with the possibility of all 12 members coming together again.
On another note, personally, I could talk about analyzing everything Loona's released, and maybe, one day, I will. Just because nearly everything I mentioned could be elaborated on if you were to focus on just one music video/subunit at a time, and also there would be a lot to cover and this just scratches the surface of the Loonaverse theories. I also am unsure if anything in this post is anywhere close to making sense but that's ok.
I managed to finish my board on time which is shocking. Mostly because it took me two terms to paint two paintings yet I managed to complete a whole board in roughly two weeks. Honestly, the duality. Anyway, I've finished my board and am waiting to find out the grade and stuff for it which is pretty fun.
Board 1
Now my board is about school and other stuff.. The first board is about the losing your mind part I guess. Everytime I showed the bridge painting to someone they'd always either complain about the bridge (not the painting but the actual bridge) or mention someone who doesn't like it I, personally, do not have an opinion on the bridge other than it looks better at night. It also shows him losing his mind and stuff like that.
Board 2
This panel is probably my least favorite just because of the blue painting. I really don't like how it came out and I might redo it some time song. It's lowkey a little rushed, the shading it looks bad, and I just don't like it. Not my best. Anyway, the rest looks alright but I kinda wish I didn't cut the leg painting so small compared to the skull painting. Overall, out of the two, this is my least favorite board however, I think if I saw the two beside each other, I might hate it less but oh well. But yea, I don't know. I just have mixed feelings about this panel.
Overall, this year was pretty decent. I managed to finish my board and my internals. I've already started thinking about board ideas for next year and I might do it based around greek myths but, we'll just have to wait and see what happens. Honestly, I don't completely hate this board and I just think there are somethings wrong with it and that it doesn't flow too well but we'll just have to see what happens.
This week, I was away for two days cause I was sick but I still managed to stay on track for my board. I managed to complete two paintings and I've started on a third. This means I'm roughly halfway through my next panel of art. I'm worried that everything isn't gonna fit on my board as I already have a few odd spaces which is annoying.
Firstly, I finished my 2nd lino print painting. I planned on printing and having it all done in one day however, as I was printing I looked at it and thought it looked a bit funky. Turns out I had cut the lino the wrong way meaning I had to completely recut my lino. Anyway, I still managed to finish it the same day which was nice.
I also painted this bathtub that I found on trade me. I altered how it looked and the colors a little just because I didn't wanna draw every tile so I just made the wall one singular unit. I'm quite proud of how this painting came out even though it was one of the plainest in the series.
One other thing I did was I added the red border to the skeleton paintings cause I didn't like how all the other paintings had it and also I just think it looks cleaner. This is what they all look like now.
I've also completed my art history internal and just need to wait for Miss Keene to check my 1.2 slides and then I'll be done. I also need to paint one more painting and then my board will be complete. I'm thinking of re-arranging some of my paintings and will probably change the layout. Anyway, next week is my last week of full school and then I'll be on study leave so no more fricken blogs. I didn't like writing blogs before and I still don't like writing blogs.
I've completed panel 1, however, I decided it would make more sense for panel 1 to be panel two. So, technically I've finished panel 2 and have started on panel 1. Anyway, look how nice it is.
Wow. Beautiful. I decided to change the background of the skeleton paintings from plain white to scraps of my maths textbook that I brought, and my old scipad. I like it a whole lot better and it fits in with the theme of school and mental breakdowns. I also finished my highway and my forest one. I wanna do one more of those however, it'll be put on the other panel. I also want to add some sewing/thread to them, however, I don't think I'll be able to as they might be too big. I'll figure out something.
For the next panel, I'm including lino printing. I want it to sort of look like glitching/someone's losing their mind. I've got a plan of two other drawings that are similar to this one + one more to link with the other panel. The problem is I don't know how to make it fit nor do I have other ideas to fill the space. In this upcoming week, I plan on sketching out a thumbnail of what will be on my board and stuff.
For my highway painting, I struggled with the sky as the fade from light to dark blue was pretty bad. the first few tries, the sky came out quite patchy looking. I also originally did the white road lines in paint however it was so fricking hard so I'll just use a white pen/marker. I don't have much more to do other than patch up the sky, put in the plants on the beige areas, touch up the bridge and sculpture, and add in signs and other things. It sounds like a lot but they're pretty small things which is good
As for my forest painting, it's coming along. I don't think I'll finish it this week. This means panel 1 is gonna be done by the end of next week. Over the holidays I'm gonna do the sewing/embroidery aspect of my board and hopefully start something for panel 2. I still have no clue what to do for panel 2 which is making me feel real confident about finishing this board by the end of the year.
My panel is getting along and I'm almost done. I'm thinking of ditching photography and focusing more on printing and Miss Keene said I could possibly combine that with laser cutting. I've done some laser cutting but that was roughly 2 - 3 years ago so I don't actually remember how to do it.
I've started on my bridge painting and will hopefully finish it halfway through next week if not earlier. I've decided I'm going to probably add red thread around the border of the paintings and sew them into the painting.
Also, Miss Morgan pointed out that I hadn't actually posted a photo of the bedroom painting on my blog. So here's a photo of it.
This isn't much of an update just as I haven't completed loads of work yet but I should finish panel 1 by the end of next week-ish.
So this week I'm nearing the completion of my first panel! I haven't done much as I'm just focusing on the last few pieces for this panel.
Although it doesn't seem like these two paintings will fit in with my theme, I promise it will all make sense. I'm going to include red thread on these two paintings and I know exactly how I'm going to do it and what it'll look like. Hopefully. The first painting is of the Memorial Ave. overpass bridge thing. I was originally going to put my bedroom painting on the first panel but I think I might put it on the second instead and put the bridge painting on panel 1. Because all my paintings fit on panel 1 perfectly, I had to make this painting the same size as the bedroom one.
My second painting for panel 1 is quite large. It's just a little too big to fit in my folder so I have to wait until I get an actual board to start pining paintings up to bring it in. If I make the painting smaller then I'll have spaces that are too small to put anything but big enough you notice them. The spaces will just look a little odd. Anyway, the painting is of a forest and this will also have red thread. Hopefully, I'll finish it before the end of next week.
I still have, zero clue on what to put on panel two so I'll do some brainstorming on what to put there. I know I have to have two different forms of mediums on my board. I'm thinking of combining photography and printing but I'm not sure yet. I'll probably include a painting that relates to the forest and overpass one so my board flows from one panel to another. At this point, I'm not sure I'm even going to include my bedroom one which would suck however, I'm not sure yet.
With 3 weeks left of school, the deadline for the artboard is getting near. I've figured out what sort of how I want panel 1 to look like and can start the final painting next week. I also believe I have almost zero ideas of what panel 2 would look like so I gotta start thinking about that.
However, all my skeleton paintings are done! Well, nearly. I just need to touch up my final one and add some dripping onto the bones but I've pretty much finished. Now, I have to decide whether I'll be adding in the red thread and stuff. Also, I don't think Miss Keene realizes that the pools of goop around the skeletons are skin??? Because she asked what color I was going to make the arm one and suggested green or red. So, I don't think she knows it's skin which is pretty funny. I was thinking if I used the red thread I could make it be the thing that connects all my paintings in a clearer way then just the theme.
So I'm still messing around with what I'm going to add to my bedroom painting. However, while that's on the back burner, I think I know what I'm going to do for the rest of the paintings. I've decided to ditch the painting of the ark* because I just, wasn't liking it. I know what I'm going to put in its place though.
I might do something inspired by that guy that took multiple photos of something and then pieced them together. I don't remember his name but I'm pretty sure there's a David somewhere in there. I don't even know if I wanna do photography but I don't know what other media I could use so I'll probably figure out what to do for photography.
In the USA, during the mid-17th century, the concept of school was first created. It was meant to help children mature into “good puritans”, however, as time passed, school became more and more focused on passing tests and achieving top grades. Although this may already be difficult for some, others find this easy and wish for more challenging work. Hence the GATE program was created. Standing for Gifted and Talented Education, the GATE program allowed students deemed to be gifted or talented a place to flourish and harbor their talents. Yet, this program is flawed as it often disregards student’s well-being, isolates students from their peers, creates an expectation to carry on being gifted, and is inconsistent in deciding who is gifted or talented.
School creates a stressful environment by itself. Adding onto the high standards already expected of GATE students doesn’t lessen this stress. By forcing students into the GATE program, teachers are ignoring how the program will affect their student’s mental health. In 2015, a study was conducted on the mental health of 100 high-achieving students. The students were categorized as talented in either maths, physics, natural sciences, visual arts, sports, music, languages, drama, and history. Out of the 100, 46% of students described having a mild problem with issues relating to emotions (i.e. anxiety, anger, sadness, or impulsiveness) while 43% described having significant problems. This shows how the GATE program affects a student’s wellbeing and mental health. However, the GATE program doesn’t just affect mental health, but also how the students view themselves along with their peers.
Competition will arise between students deemed gifted and talented, and with the strive to be the top, it’s inevitable. Although this push for perfectionism may be positive at first, this will later affect the student’s social life. As gifted students strive for perfection no matter what, they risk missing out on a social life by volunteering to isolate themselves from their peers. This hinders their social skills for later in life and their chance to create friendships with peers. Gifted students will also view other gifted students as competition, believing they need to outperform their peers. When they don’t, it leads to negative talk such as “you’re not good enough” or “you’ll never be as good as them”. This inevitable competition and need for perfection can lead to a student missing out on learning social skills and how to interact with peers in the future.
“We think that education is, above all, a preparation for the future.” This is how Professor Bill Lucas of the University of Winchester describes the purpose of school. But, does the GATE program help students in preparing for the future? Or does it make it harder to adjust to the new environment? For gifted students, it’s the latter. Gifted students go from being told they’re a special few among a few hundred to the opposite. They go from being a big fish in a small pond to a small fish within a big pond containing a few thousand other fishes. They become like everyone else. Alongside losing their “special” label, gifted students also have those expectations to live up to their so-called “potential”. They’re expected to fulfill the role of being a gifted student by entering a career suitable to their giftedness. This pressure to excel and carry on their giftedness in a world where no-one cares about their “special” label causes conflict on what they want and who they are outside of their gifted label.
But how is this label forced upon them, exactly? Well, it’s been found that GATE programs have a tendency to be selective and, occasionally, racist. Focusing on the former, there is no solid way to tell if a student is gifted as it’s a selective thing. Different cultures and people have different opinions about what makes a child gifted or talented. The New Zealand Ministry of Education agrees with this, stating, “... Māori ideas of giftedness include personal qualities as well as abilities ....” Some schools will include personal qualities and abilities, however, there is nothing guaranteeing this. Nothing ensures that one school selects gifted children the same way as another school. In the end, every child has a gift or talent, don’t they? Why are the talents that benefit the school’s statistics the most important?
Since the beginning of time, racism has existed. As time has progressed, this segregation occurred and, although it may have happened anywhere between 10 - 50 years ago, that separation still affects marginalized groups today. Why do you think so many African-Americans live in low-income areas? It’s because of racism. Unfortunately, this segregation affects who is considered gifted and talented. Someone who’s family can afford the opportunities of learning an instrument or afford books upon books for their child to read means that child will, inevitably, develop talents in those fields. In 2009, a study found that although black students made up 16.7% of the student population, only 9.8% appeared in GATE programs. Another study - conducted in 2016 - found that although a black student may score the same as a white student, they are less likely to get into a GATE program compared to their white counterpart. This hints to the subtle racism that lies within modern society and the GATE program.
Although I believe that it is important to allow students the ability to nurture their skills, the GATE program as it currently stands is deeply flawed. Through its disregard for student’s well-being, isolation from peers, the expectation to carry on the gifted label, and inconsistency with selecting who is considered gifted and talented, the GATE program has managed to fail at its original goal; to allow students a place to flourish.
This week in art I'm preparing to turn in our 1.2 work and - hopefully - to have more paintings complete. I am getting there on my paintings though. I've finished the second foot painting/ink drawing and sort of have an idea of what to paint as part of places that contribute to my theme.
So, I'm still thinking about incorporating sewing into my paintings cause I like that idea a lot and also I was thinking of doing it before. However, I'm still not sure if I wanna do it on the skeleton paintings or not. The big thing also is that if I do it to the paintings then there's no going back so what I might do is print off another copy of it and do a whole bit to see how it would work. Other than that my skeleton drawings are coming along well and I plan on doing an arm next.
As for my bigger paintings I still only have the room however I think I know what I'm gonna be focusing on as my subject matter(?). I'm not sure if I wanna include something with the shul but if I do then that means I have to go in and take photos which means I might have to talk to the people there. There aren't a lot of people I like at the shul except for like, 6 people and one of them is the wife of one of the guys that I strongly hate with a passion because I feel bad that she's married to him when she, herself, is really nice to me. Everyone else I'm not particularly fond of. I'm not sure how I'm going to distort the photos or make them seem off but I might mess around and try some things while at home.
I think I've figured out a theme as well. I'm liking the idea of doing it about death and destruction of oneself if that makes sense? I don't know but I am vibing with it and did, like, a mini brainstorm about it and have some ideas.
For 1.2 I don't even know if I've done it. We were given this slide to fill out to see where we're at. I haven't got many pieces of work to put on it.
Mrs. Clemence was told me today that my word count on my blog this month isn't anywhere near the word count I had this month last year and she wants me to post more so here I am. Posting more.
This week in art I ditched the painting I was working because I didn't like it. I'm not vibing with the colors of the walls so I can either paint over them or trace the drawing onto another piece of card and completely restart. But for now, I've put the painting on the back burner and start a different painting
So last week I completed a different painting of a skull and have started a second painting with a similar concept/subject matter just it's a skull foot. Miss Keene brought up the idea of having threads hanging out sorta? If that makes sense? Anyway, I like the idea quite a bit but I'm not sure if I'll do it for the skeleton paintings or for my main building/room paintings or both. I don't know but I was thinking about including stuff like sewing in my paintings but I haven't figured out how to do it yet and she definitely gave me some ideas. It just depends whether I'm actually gonna confront the fact that I need to think about this or if I'm just going to continue running from my responsibilities like me ignoring it is a metaphor for me running away from real-world problems. None of that made sense but it did in my head.
ALSO, I'm locking down on what my theme is. I don't wanna tell anyone cause I'm scared that people will think it's dumb cause I need validation from others and if you think something I write or paint is dumb I will probably completely change my idea. And yes, I can take criticism. Anyway, I'm thinking of building on my idea of having a meltdown with linking it to the theme of loss of identity/death of self/death of identity or something like that. That's what I'm thinking of doing anyway.
Preface: I have nothing against most Christians by the way. The Christians I, personally, have met are wonderful people. They’re extremely nice so when you’re reading this, you should know what type of Christians I’m talking about (hopefully). This post/essay is more focused on certain parts of the religion and those reading this should hopefully know what parts/people I’m talking about. So, this is not a personal attack - or an attack at all - on Christians as a whole community. This is more about my thoughts on certain parts/people who are involved with this religion.
If you’re an avid reader of my blog, you may have noticed that last year I posted my mixed feelings about the Christian religion. I deleted that post roughly 5 days after posting it due to school starting 2 weeks later and being worried I would get in trouble. The reason for this is because I talked about why I had a weird distaste for the Christian religion which includes things such as the “Christian” holidays, the commercialization of the religion, bible thumpers, and megachurches. Since then I’ve still wanted to write something about the religion as I think about it quite often so here I am. That and Mrs. Clemence want me to post more on my blog because she reads it?? Personally, an awful decision on her part as my blog is an absolute mess but ok.
The most obvious part is the de-Christianization of the Christian holidays. From the only religious holidays that are enforced on us being Christian or the fact that people celebrate Christian holidays after claiming they themselves are atheists. In December 2013, Pew Forum interviewed 2,001 Adults across the U.S asking whether they believed Christmas was a religious holiday. 51% believed it was a religious holiday while 32% didn’t and thought it was more of a cultural holiday. 68% of those believing it was cultural were unaffiliated with Evangelism, Protestants, or Catholicism. This shows how normalized Christian holidays have become, to the point where many consider the holiday cultural rather than religious. Then there is also the time off that these holidays allow. Out of the 10 public holidays that allow time off, 3 of them are Christian (Good Friday, Easter Monday, and Christmas). We get these days off whether you’re Christian which isn’t too bad after all, who doesn’t love a day off. However, speaking from a Jewish perspective, this is unfair to anyone who celebrates any other religion that isn’t Christianity or Catholicism. How come I am able to take off days for holidays I don’t celebrate but have to risk missing school work to celebrate the Jewish High Holidays - Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanna, and the first two days of Pesach. This goes to show how normalized it’s become to celebrate Christian holidays as secular rather than religious holidays. However, some of those that do view it as religious are most likely from the bible belt.
If you read my connections essay which, if you haven’t, I’m deeply disappointed in you. In that essay, I “briefly” (well, depending on what you consider briefly) mention the “bible belt” states. The “bible belt” is a series of states located mostly in the south of the U.S and are notoriously known for being conservative, right-wing, bible thumpers. If you don’t know, a bible thumper is someone who aggressively shoves their beliefs onto others. These are the people that you typically see picketing outside abortion clinics or pride events while screaming about how you’re going to hell. It’s also important to note that they aren’t only found within the bible belt, it’s just that they tend to be raised or gravitate to these states. Bible thumpers are known for picking and choosing what parts of the bible they preach i.e Yes, God loves all, but only to a certain extent. Rather than believing in God’s message of “Above all, love each other deeply because love covers a multitude of sins” from Peter 4:8. However, according to bible thumpers, this doesn’t apply if you’re LGBT+, had an abortion, pre-marital sex, etc. Alongside ignoring God’s original message of loving others regardless of sin, bible thumpers also use the bible as an excuse for hating on others. In the end, bible thumpers don’t care for what the meaning of Christianity is, all they care for is an excuse for preaching their harmful beliefs.
Most televangelists have also lost sight of what Christianity is. Televangelists are those people on the Christian channels that can miraculously cure cancer through the tv screen. Really, it’s incredible. However, oftentimes in order for them to cure your illnesses, they need some of your money or - as they like to call it - “sowing a seed”. “Plant your seed and change will come,” they say to you from their lounge chair. Unfortunately, this money doesn’t actually contribute to anything. No change, illnesses cured. Instead, the money goes straight into their bank account and is used to buy a variety of things such as Lamborghinis, private jets, and personal yachts. Televangelists preach via scamming their audience. An audience that will usually be in desperate times whether it's financial or not. Televangelists prey on this weakness by exploiting it in order to find the money they need to buy their next house. John Oliver did an amazing episode about it and in the end, he starts his own church which is crack up(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7y1xJAVZxXg).
Yea, I don’t know. The Christian religion has always had some parts of it that no other religion really has. Like, you don’t see a rabbi on the Sky TV channel 201 or anything and like, the way Christianity has evolved is just really interesting to think about. Obviously, not all Christians are like this cause the Christians I’ve met are really wonderful people. This is just stuff I think about sometimes. Anyway, I’m gonna go back into hibernation while I wait for my stickers from redbubble.
Preface: The scene I'm analyzing is this one. It’s the full cut of two scenes together (first half aired in episode 20 while the later half in episode 21) and the scene I’m doing finishes after Zuko gets hit by lightning. However, I would recommend watching the whole scene right to the end. Another note I couldn’t fit in was the ages of Azula and Zuko which I believe adds to the scene. It’s speculated that Zuko is between 16 - 15 while Azula is 14.
Few shows over the past decades have managed to touch the hearts of millions in the way that Avatar: The Last Airbender has. Created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko and running for a short 3 seasons between 2005 and 2008, Avatar: The Last Airbender managed to impact not only the lives and morals of thousands but also how television shows tell stories. Throughout the series, various directors have used different techniques in an effort to tell the story in creative ways and no other director has used these skills so well in a single shot like Joaquim Dos Santos did with The Last Agni Kai scene in Book 3, Episode 20 - Sozin's Comet, Part 3: Into The Inferno. In this scene we see the two sibling characters, Zuko and Azula, engaging in a fight known as an Agni Kai, a battle between two firebenders. Using techniques such as color theory, non-diegetic sound, set design, and blocking, Dos Santos could create one of the most bone-chilling and memorable scenes in the series (other than the Leaves From The Vine scene).
The first most noticeable technique used is the use of color theory. In the scene, Azula and Zuko are fighting with two distinctly different colors of flames; Azula fights with blue flames while Zuko fights with red. For the audience, this allows them to differentiate the two characters within the fight and be able to see each side moves clearly, similar to how sports teams have different colored uniforms. The contrast between the two colors also lets us feel the epicness of the fight. The bold colors against the dim background stand out and adds to the amazement the audience feels while watching the scene. However, that is not the only reason director Dos Santos chose the two colors. In film, blue is typically used to represent emotions such as isolation and sadness and by giving Azula blue flames represents how she has pushed everyone away and is now isolated. In the previous scene, we see how she caused this isolated environment by herself, how her madness and paranoia have overtaken her causing her to push away the only friends and family she has. Her startling blue flames contrast with Zuko's bright red. Zuko's red flames represent the warmth and love he has garnered over the series. The love of family from his Uncle Iroh, and the love he has gained from the Gaang - Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, and Suki. The two colors represent their journey over the series and the two paths the siblings chose - one of love vs one of isolation. This is further emphasized when we take into account the blocking of the scene. At the start of the scene, we see that those who were surrounding Azula leave and we don't see them again, not even when Azula is seen chained to a vent at the end of the next scene. Compare this with the blocking on Zuko's side: during certain points of the scene, we can see that katara is still there with Zuko. She doesn't leave him alone unlike the way the courtiers left Azula alone. We can juxtapose this scene with where the two characters are at the beginning of the series. We first meet Zuko when he is alone; he's been essentially exiled from the fire kingdom until he returns with the avatar, and he only has his Uncle Iroh with him - the only family member that loves him other than his deceased mother. This contrasts with Azula's situation, she has two friends - Ty Lee and Mai - and her father, along with the rest of the palace courtiers who all adore her. As the series goes forward we slowly see this situation flip, Zuko gains friends and trusted comrades while Azula loses them.
A notably odd part of this scene is the use of non-diegetic sound. Typically in a fight scene, a high-powered song is used to emphasize the intensity of the scene. However, the music accompanying this scene is slower and more somber, rather the music resembles one that we would more commonly hear accompanying a funeral scene. The track has a steady tempo and only uses two types of instruments - strings and drums - for most, if not the entirety of the track. This creates a sudden feeling of pain and sadness among the audience throughout the series we hear fast-paced music to accompany the fight scenes. Using the somber music allows the audience to feel the emotional weight symbolized by the music. Director Joaquim Dos Santos intended for this to happen as the purpose of this music choice is to emphasize the death and loss we see throughout the series, hence the funeral vibes. Whether it's the loss of childhood, the end of a once-great kingdom, or the death of a sibling bond. Contrast this with the interjecting fight scenes of the Aang vs Ozai fight. Their music is much more suitable, it's fast, high pace, and aids in feeling like the fight is intense. Although we do see similar themes occur - such as Aang deciding not to kill Fire Lord Ozai and refusing to give up his morals (spoilers) - it's got that grandeur aura about it that's been hyped since the beginning of the series. This contrast between scenes can also be seen in the choice of color palette and tone. While Aang's fight uses lighter colors, most being Earthy colors such as yellow, greens, blues, and oranges, Zuko's fight is far darker with a focus on deep reds, oranges, and blacks. This combination of palette and music work well together in providing the funeral tone Dir. Dos Santos desired.
A more subtle film technique used is the set design. The Last Agni Kai takes place at Fire Lord Ozai's palace in his courtyard, the surrounding fire kingdom is, ironically, on fire. The rooftops are aflame with the fire emitting from the fight causing houses and parts of the palace to burn. For the audience, they are able to fully understand how the surrounding buildings have been affected by the Agni kai. By having the audience understand the amount of destruction being caused, we feel afflicted. Throughout the series, we see how the Fire Nation has destroyed various towns and cities, in particular the Air Temples. Seeing the Fire Nation burn in a sense, is karma. They are getting a taste of the destruction and pain they have caused to the other nations. Dos Santos is also showing the Fire Nation burning to show the downfall and end of their brutal reign. Alongside those two meanings, Zuko and Azula cause most, if not all, of the damage to their own kingdom. By having members of the Fire Nation setting fire to their own kingdom - whether intentionally or accidentally - shows how the Nation has self-destructed with the amount of power they control. Because of this, the audience is glad the Fire Nation is getting a taste of their own medicine. However, because we know the destruction the nation has caused and how it has affected the people of the world, we feel some sort of sympathy for the Fire Nation citizens who have gotten caught in this cross-fire. This combined with the somber music emphasizes the symbolization that a kingdom has fallen and an era has ended.
In all visual media, a common technique used is blocking. Although blocking is sometimes just where the actors stand, some directors use this technique to convey a subtle message. Dos Santos does exactly that with the placement and movement between Azula and Zuko in the Last Agni Kai. Throughout the scene, Azula is moving all around, attacking Zuko at all angles while Zuko stands his ground in the same spot. This conveys to the audience not only the two types of fighting styles within fire bending but also how the two characters have grown as people. We feel as if we have seen the two characters grow as the story progresses, as if we too have grown with them. The audience is also able to see the two paths the young teenagers have chosen; one of isolation and one of friendship. By having Azula constantly moving and using more tricks and forceful power, Dos Santos can show the audience what Azula values. Azula is what some would call "a gifted child", she showed immense talent as a child, therefore, her whole life centers on her talent. She seeks validation from others (in particular her father Lord Ozai) which she achieves by using tricks and flaunting her skills. Juxtapose this to the way Zuko fights. Zuko too wanted validation from his Father, however, unlike Azula, Zuko had love from both his Mother and Uncle Iroh to balance out the need for validation from his Father. In short, Zuko has received love from both his achievements and for simply existing, Azula has only received love based on achievements. This balance in Zuko's life allows him to be sure of himself and to maintain a confident, balanced stance throughout the fight. Similar to how yin and yan work together to create a balance in life, or how you need to balance the four walls of Hauora to stay stable. This causes her to feel the need to constantly be flaunting her skills and forgetting the basics of good firebending. This works well with not only the close-ups we see of Azula's face but also the brilliant voice acting done by Grey DeLisle. I believe that without the voice acting, this scene wouldn't be as powerful.
The Last Agni Kai stands out among the dozens of well-written fights we see fought throughout the series. Using techniques such as blocking, color theory, non-diegetic music, and set design, Dos Santos successfully wrapped up one of the most iconic character redemption arcs in the history of storytelling. Dos Santos also managed to make us feel sympathy for Azula, one of the main antagonists, by reminding us of her unfortunate life. As time progresses new shows will come and go, however, Avatar: The Last Airbender will always remain as one of the best shows ever.
In 1934, Hollywood was hit with the introduction of the Hays Code. The Hays Code was a set of rules that films between 1934 and 1968 were made to follow in order to be shown. These rules included a ban on nudity, displaying alcohol use, scenes of childbirth, and most famously, censorship of homosexual relationships. This censorship caused many to display any LGBT relationships through subtext. Although we are now allowed to depict LGBT individuals and couples outright, showing relationships within subtext is still common and seen today. Ocean Waves directed by Tomomi Mochizuki, The Rocky Horror Picture Show directed by Jim Sharman, The Wizard of OZ directed by Victor Fleming, and Sailor Moon S directed by Kunihiko Ikuhara all follow the theme of depicting the LGBT+ community within the subtext.
The Rocky Horror Picture show directed by Jim Sharman was and still is known for how it displays the theme of depicting the LGBT community within the subtext. The theme is most clearly shown in the scene where characters - Brad and Janet - enter Frank-N-Furter’s castle while the song “Let’s Do The Time Warp” is sung. In this scene, we are essentially seeing the two straight characters entering the party life and the open life of the LGBT+ community for the first time. Brad and Janet are visibly uncomfortable with the party guests similar to how many outside of the LGBT+ community felt about the community. Rocky Horror was released six years after the famous Stonewall Riots which began the protests against police brutality, lack of LGBT+ rights, and inequality. Those who weren’t from the community were uncomfortable with this sudden free-living despite what others thought (wow, I wonder what that reminds you of). As the movie proceeds, Brad and Janet become more comfortable with those in the castle and eventually completely let go and enjoy themselves. Director Jim Sharman did this to mirror the events of the time and give hope to members of the community that one day, those who are at first uncomfortable with us at first, will accept us. Showcasing the LGBT community within subtext by reflecting the wishes that many within the community wish for is similar to how the theme is shown in The Wizard of OZ.
The Wizard of OZ directed by Victor Fleming similarly follows the theme of depicting the LGBT+ community within the subtext. The film does this throughout the film, however, we can most clearly see this in the iconic scene in which Dorothy enters OZ. In this scene, Dorothy “wakes up” from her nap, opens the door, and, instead of stepping out onto her family’s black and white farm, she enters the bright colorful world of Oz. This mirrors the dreams of LGBT individuals stuck in bible belt states, such as Kansas, and their want to enter a more accepting, colorful place with less black and white thinking. This is supported by the Philadelphia Gay News article talking about The Wizard of Oz’s impact and contribution to the LGBT community*. Throughout time, bible belt states have been known to be quite religious and conservative states throughout history. This has meant that LGBT people growing up in bible belt states struggled and often dreamed of leaving their state and moving to one of the bigger cities such as New York or San Francisco. The Rocky Horror Picture Show shows the theme by having characters represent communities, directorFleming has done something similar with Dorothy and OZ. Dorothy represents LGBT individuals trapped in the bible belt states, and her dream of Oz representing the more accepting cities of NY or SanFran. The Wizard of OZ can subtly give voice to those dreams of leaving the black and white thinking of the south and find an accepting community.
Unlike how The Rocky Horror Picture Show and The Wizard of OZ show the representation of LGBT communities on a large scale, Sailor Moon S, directed by Kunihiko Ikuhara, shows the more personal relationships within the community. During the ‘90s anime boom, it wasn’t uncommon to see queercoded characters in animes such as Revolutionary Girl Utena, Cardcaptor Sakura, and Ocean Waves. Sailor Moon S also follows this trend. The theme of depicting the LGBT community within subtext is best shown through the two characters Tenoh Haruka and Kaioh Michiru throughout the series, however, to narrow it down we’ll focus on Sailor Moon S. Throughout the series we see still shots of Haruka and Michiru accompanied with romantic music and rose petals framing the still. This shows the theme of depicting the LGBT community within subtext as no other character receives these romantic standstills, not even the show’s main couple Mamoru and Usagi. Director Ikuhara did this to frame the two characters as romantic. Paired with romantic music, Ikuhara has paired two devices associated with romance and the audience can identify the romantic relationship between the two characters without being told straight out. This is similar to how Ocean Waves uses romantic synth during a love confession theme between the two principal characters and how the confession will be between the two men. Throughout the series, we get other inklings Haruka and Michiru are in a romantic relationship which eventually breaks from subtext. However, the U.S dubbed version tried to hide this subtext by censoring the two’s relationship by calling the two "cousins'', which failed miserably. The censorship of the relationship wasn’t a choice of director Ikuhara, instead DiC - the company hired to dub the anime - decided to do this to appeal to the American public.
The ’90s saw a rise in homophobia which can be credited to the AIDs crisis seen in America and the way it was painted. AIDs in the U.S and all around the world was painted as a disease that was easily passable and was typically associated with gay men. Although the latter is mostly true (not entirely, just mostly), this image of AIDs that was marketed to the world caused paranoia and a rise in homophobia. We can see this homophobia in the nicknames given to which included the gay disease, GRID (gay-related immune deficiency), and even gay cancer. Michiru and Haruka weren’t the only LGBT individuals censored, there was also Fish Eye, a villain who was a man dressed as a woman (no one could figure out whether they were transgender or a drag queen), and two characters known as Zoisite and Kunzite. Zoisite and Kunzite were originally a gay couple, however, the dub changed Zoisite into a straight woman to hide their relationship. Unlike these three characters, viewers in America were able to pick up on the inerasable romantic subtext between the “cousins' ' Michiru and Haruka and were many viewers realized later in life that the two were very clearly romantically involved.
Ocean Waves directed by Tomomi Mochizuki is one of Studio Ghibli’s least celebrated films. This is most likely due to the way it is drawn out that causes many to quit halfway through. However, if one were to stick through it and finish the entire thing, we can see the theme of depicting the LGBT community within subtext throughout the film. Even though we can see it throughout, the theme doesn’t hit us until the very end. Taku and his old high school friend Yutaka are strolling along a pier reflecting on their school years while the sun sets. In the background, ‘80s synth and slow saxophone play, giving this scene the quintessential, early ‘90s love confession setting. This love confession, however, is one-sided and about an old high school crush which fits in with the scene following where, at the high school reunion that is taking place, classmates are confessing to having old crushes on others. Director Mochizuki did this on purpose to frame the scene as a love confession between the two now-men. Mochizuki further emphasized this by the way he created the dynamic between the two characters throughout the film. Throughout the film, Taku is shown as willing to drop anything to visit his friend Yutaka, even in the middle of work. Taku also is shown as caring deeply about what Yutaka thinks. We see this when he learns the forced female love interest spreads a rumor about her and Taku. Once learning how this has negatively affected Yutaka’s feelings about him, Taku takes it upon himself to fix the situation. The director has also framed Taku as having a crush on Yutaka by having the former show little interest in girls and caring the most about what Yutaka thinks about him. Of course, a teenage boy showing little interest in girls doesn’t automatically make them gay, however, this detail along with the context of their relationship, plus the romantic setting of their walk frames this scene as a love confession. This is similar to how Sailor Moon S uses romantic devices such as rose petals and slow, soft music to frame the two characters Haruka and Michiru as a couple. By doing this Ocean Waves is able to depict the LGBT community within subtext in a ‘90s anime produced by a large company with very few realizing.
Although it has been years since the enforcement of the Hays Code has stopped, the theme of depicting the LGBT community within subtext still occurs today. Visual texts such as Sailor Moon S directed by Kunihiko Ikuhara, Ocean Waves directed by Tomomi Mochizuki, The Wizard of OZ directed by Victor Fleming, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show directed by Jim Sharman show how they have shown the theme in different yet similar ways. Nowadays, shows such as She-Ra: Princesses of Power, Wynonna Earp, and The Handmaiden can freely show depictions of the LGBT community without the use of subtext, depicting the LGBT within subtext will continue to remain a theme throughout LGBT media for years to come.
This term in English, we're doing my least favorite form of writing: Persuasive. We started by looking at elements of eloquence and sentences. Now we've moved on and are looking at pathos, ethos, and logos. Knowing what Pathos, Ethos, and Logos are will allow us to convince our audience of our argument in a variety of ways.
Pathos
Pathos is when the use of emotions are used to appeal to the audience. It does this by using descriptive features, inspirational quotes, personal stories, or relates it back to the audience on an emotional level in order to convince them of their argument. This is going to sound mean but it's sort of like, guilt-tripping the audience into agreeing with their side. Typically advertisements will include something personal such as addressing the audience as "you" as if they were talking directly to you. "YOU have the power to help" is a common example.
Ethos
Ethos is when an argument either comes from a reliable source or is supported by them. A reliable source could be someone like a doctor, dentist, or someone qualified in a specific field of work relevant to the product. This is used to convince the audience by giving them someone who they believe is reliable to give them advice. I.e, I'm more likely to buy a skincare product if I know it's endorsed by a dermatologist.
Logos
Logos is when the use of logic is used in order to convince the audience of your argument. Logos typically includes references to studies, statistics, facts, etc. This makes the audience feel that your argument is more reliable as there has been research conducted to back your claims. For example "In my 10 years of fishing, I have never seen a Maui dolphin in this area."
