cabbagerose:

photography by evan joseph

via: evanjoseph

Spaghetti day needs to be a real thing

Great animated poster which takes good advantage of the medium

Love this poster! 

Film poster for Taxi Driver (Scorsese) by Guy Peellaert.

It would be interesting to see Brooks team up with Scorsese again 

Rant and ramblings on Dair vs Chair.. Trying to figure out why people still ship Chair

warning: inconsistent 

Chair, Dair, Nair. Whatever. I’m a Blair fan. Always have, always will. I’ve liked her with Chuck, I liked the Nate/Blair redux in season two and I’m loving Dan/Blair right now. But my biggest love has been that for the character Blair.

I didn’t mind Chair when they were actually good. Like before he sold her for a hotel, before ditching their trip, before dragging her feelings around. Basically from 1x07-1x11 when he saw in her what we saw in her, and what Nate so painfully neglected.

But after that, it was hard for me to root for a romantic interest that obviously treats her like shit. Had Gossip Girl started in mid season 3, I’m sure some people wouldn’t be rooting for their relationship the same way they are now. They’re rooting now because they saw the build up in season 1-2, the what could have been-s, that is why they so firmly stick to their ship. They were promised Chuck as a better alternative to Nate, someone who actually appreciated Blair. But ever since they had gotten together, that promise was never fulfilled. But the hope remained and rationalizing of Chuck’s behavior took extreme turns. Just like any victim trapped in the cycle of abuse rationalizes. They rationalize the awful occasions by reminiscing of the better ones. Or, even worse, by forgiving his actions because of how much he loves her. But what he feels for her isn’t love. It’s obsession masked as love, it’s not healthy for either party. Because if you look at the relationship objectivly, the state they were in (midseason 3), was even worse than the state Nate and Blair were in during the pilot episode. They are no better for each other than Nate and Blair were back then. 

If you had a friend who was in a relationship similar to Blair and Chuck’s, would you want your friend to continue it? If you said yes then frankly, I think you’re a shitty friend. Love is more than grand gestures and extreme feelings, it’s about finding someone you feel good with. More importantly it’s about finding someone who makes you feel good about yourself. Blair has stated over and over, that she does not like the person she is with Chuck. So I can’t understand how anyone in their right mind (who is a Blair fan) can honestly want her with Chuck. 

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In a way, I see obsessive chair fans obtaining the same mentality as the victim (Blair) in the cycle of abuse. Convinced that he actually loves her, that he might change, that somehow she has to change as well. Connecting grand gestures to proof of respect and love. As tools of forgiveness.

So in a way, Gossip Girl might just be the smartest portrayal of the cycle of abuse there is. Because it managed to make some fans obtain that same mentality of an abuse victim themselves. Instead of just giving the outside perspective of abuse it managed to dig deeper. Perhaps this way, they’re themselves victims of abuse. 

Just kidding. Gossip Girl is a mindless show that unfortunately got stuck with a crazy shipper base.

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What any self-respecting woman would want for herself, I want for Blair. And that is not Chuck. I want Blair to move from her weak position and become the woman us Blair fans are rooting for. The kind that is happy, is in a respectful relationship. Being a fan of Blair, I am therefor a fan of her either being single or with someone who is loving and appreciative of her. Right now that is Dan. I’m not going to delve further into that, because the quality of their relationship speaks for itself but I will say that if Dan and Blair don’t happen, I’m ok with that. As long as she never goes back to Chuck. Because as a Blair fan my wish is that she, in the final moments of this show, finally breaks free from that abusive cycle. It’s not healthy in any shape or form and it’s insulting to her character. It would mean that we see a Blair, who has not only made 0 progression during the entire 6 seasons, but also managed to regress. 

Remember in season one, when Blair told Serena that she wanted a Romeo not Hamlet. Back then she was referring to Nate being Hamlet and Chuck being Romeo. It’s very telling how different things are now. Because today Chuck would be Hamlet and Dan would be Romeo. Blair has changed over the seasons but I truly believe her wish to have a Romeo, as in a light non brooding love, is still there. 

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Now, moving on to the quality aspect of the show. Disregarding all the actions. The biggest reason I don’t want Blair with Chuck is because the writing actually blows. It’s not ok, it’s not even passable. The actors had chemistry in season 1-2 to let that pass. But today, with how the characters have become and how they’re played. It’s literally EYE-ROLL INDUCING. It’s the kind of writing you do at 3 am, thinking it sounds awesome, only to cringe at when proofreading it a week later. It’s the kind of writing I did when I was 15 and thought that Cruel Intentions was the bEsT MoVie eVa!!

This is actually a major reason as to why I like Blair with Dan. Because the writing is actually good, and the actors actually seem excited to act the storyline out. If this were any other show, I would say this is the couple to root for. And I surely hope the writers will go in that direction. But unfortunately this is Gossip Girl, the show that trivializes serious subjects such as prostitution and domestic abuse. And more importantly, the show that makes a romantic hero out of one of the most misogynic characters on television right now. 

Sure this is entertainment and only a television show. But judging from the attitudes of the obsessive chair shippers, the impact popular culture has on teens takes a depressing and very disturbing turn.

WOLF OF WALL STREET - DREAM CAST

DIRECTOR: MARTIN SCORSESE

PRINCIPAL CAST:

LEONARDO DICAPRIO - Jordan Belfort

JAMES MCAVOY - Danny Porush

AMBER HEARD - Nadine Caridi Belfort

ROBERT DE NIRO - Max Belfort

JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT - Gregory Coleman

LEIGHTON MEESTER - Denise Lombardo Belfort

MELISSA LEO - Patricia