fuck you TVNZ

[grassangel]

No advertising for the second series of Sherlock? I almost missed it if it weren't for my friend and her mother. And I really hope you don't have the US cut. 

So I pretty much need to go watch Thor now. Aside from the knowing a doppleganger of Chris Hemsworth and being fond of Norse mythology (Hawkeye (and is that ever an odd name to type in reference to a male character) should have an arrow made from mistletoe and when they imprisoned Loki they should've dripped venom into his eyes) the brotherly angst between Loki and Thor is really interesting. Also, Nidhoggr on the strap/buckle things makes me want to see what other parallels have been made to the Eddas.
Loki's kind of darling to have placidly waited for his brother to finish duking it out with Captain America and Iron Man. The hairsprayed swoopy thing going on with his hair, theatric speech and general wimpiness (the cliff! the crater!) kind of makes him adorable. You so obviously want to be a big bad, but the best you can do is pull pranks on people. fuck, I swore not to like you

Also, I need to watch Iron Man 1 & 2, since Tony Stark's snark is fun.

So art nouveau is apparently alien architecture now. This means interesting thoughts concerning what happened in the late Victorian period.

Characters whose fighting styles I liked: Black Widow, Hawkeye. Captain America, because the way he uses that buckler, unf. Tony Stark, because I do appreciate cleverness in battle.

And fuck all the people who said Scarlet Johansson was simply eyecandy. Did they not watch the last battle? There were two people responsible for the aliens dying and the portal closing, and her character was one of them. (Have I mentioned that I like intelligence in fighting? Because I do. Also, she fought dirty, and I rather like that too.)

One last thing, Fury's speech at the end, about how the Avenger's would get together again to protect the Earth from any threat? Needs to be combined with the Doctor's speech to the Atraxi about how Earth is protected. Which I'd be tempted to do myself, since all the appropriate action shots are in the trailers.

ETA: Other things that would've made EXCELLENT crossover points - that aircraft carrier, is its name Valiant by any chance?
Also, where the hell were Meg Murry and Calvin O'Keefe and family? Because tesseract. They know how to deal with these things. Especially if those things include aliens. In my head, Madeleine L'Engle's Kairos-verse, Young Wizards and Doctor Who are all compatible with each other. With the Kairos-verse adapting to YW and DW rather than the other way around.

Lastly: this gif prompted me to post this picture underneath it on tumblr, because combining Pinkie Pie's "Okey dokie loki(e)!" with Loki is hilarious and there should be more of it.

Comments

[ipsius.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, please watch Thor. Loki's character is very, very different in that movie. His subplot had a surprising depth and psychological complexity that was almost Shakespearean (haha Kenneth Branagh), and that was something that was completely missing in Avengers. I'm not even trying to hide the fact that he's my favorite character in this franchise. >_____>

Truth, Black Widow was one of the best things about that entire movie. Are people actually still saying that? Because if they are, then they can go trip over their own sexism and fall down a cliff.

[grass-angel.livejournal.com]

It was already on my to-watch list because I absolutely adore Norse mythology, but it's even higher because now I just know there'll be more to Loki's backstory and his relationship with Thor will probably break my heart. Although I have been spoiled by Sherlock and expecting loads of references to the Eddas will probably disappoint me.

People are still working under the statute of spoilers and I generally don't hang around places that talk about comics movies much, but I have seen commentary defending her and her place in the movie. So yeah, aside from the people calling out Joss on the way he wrote the threats directed at her, there have been presumably people complaining about how she did nothing or was just eye candy. I did kind of feel that Captain America was mostly eye candy. Though that may be because I haven't seen his movie either and found his patriotism sickeningly sweet and naive. And he and Tony did get the lion's share of lines. Which also disappointed me.

[ipsius.livejournal.com]

Ah, yes, you can go into Thor expecting nuanced character psychology on Loki's part, but it doesn't really deliver much on the actual mythology front. I mean, Aesir like Baldr and Freyja don't even exist, for example. And they're not even real gods, just aliens living in another dimension. >____> But Loki won't disappoint! The best thing about Loki in the Thor movie was that he was like an onion, just full of layers and layers to peel back, but everything he did made perfect sense. I think you've probably read Neil Gaiman's works? But I think his Norse gods in Sandman and American Gods would have much more of the mythology that you would enjoy. (Which reminds me that I really need to go reread American Gods...)

I've only been reading comments on LJ, so I've only seen debates over whether Black Widow's characterization was sufficiently feminist. I have seen people who said they were uncomfortable with the way Black Widow chose to disarm people during interrogations, namely, by using their own gender preconceptions against them and making herself seem vulnerable in the process. And I can see where they're coming from, but realistically, I would expect a spy to do that. I mean, there are two ways you can go about subverting gender conventions: either ignore them completely or acknowledge them and then kick them in the face. And Joss Whedon chose the second option. But pssshhhhh at whoever thought Black Widow did nothing. She recruited the Hulk! She disarmed a mind-controlled Hawkeye! She closed the effing Tesseract portal! What more do these people want?

Oh Captain America. Haha, if you thought his personality was sickeningly sweet and naive in this movie, then his own movie would just be unbearable. He's a propaganda character played straight, without a single hint of irony, in all honesty. His defining characteristics are his humility and intense desire to protect people. He was actually much more angry and bitter in Avengers than he was in Captain America, not going to lie. Basically he has no flaws. >____>

[grass-angel.livejournal.com]

Yep, read all of the Sandman and American Gods, though AG was several years ago. AG is fun to pick out mythological shout outs though. Sandman is more Greek/Roman mythology, with a dash of English folklore, however.
I am aware of this missing-whole-great-chunks-of-mythos and aliens part, and pretty much only nudges this Marvel!verse interpretation of mythology over towards where Doctor Who and Stargate are with their whole "advanced technology and manipulation of physics can look like magic and vice versa" spin on ancient gods.

I've been mostly reading things via tumblr and twitter, which are mostly along the same lines. I was a little miffed that she was the only one who had extremely obvious air-brushing. (Tony Stark and Loki also had some I'm sure, but the art director made it really obvious with the close ups to her face.)
But there are only really two ways to subvert gender conventions as you said, and I much prefer the latter as well. Because you should treat all people the same and help people all the same. It's what a spy would dooooo, taking preconceptions and using them to their advantage.
The lack of conversation of what she did disheartens me. She did loads, yet no one is talking about it. Even if all of it is spoilery, it feels pretty erasing to me.

I am now going to engage in a conversation with one of my friends about his thoughts about Captain America. Because I have almost no sympathy for his character aside from a sliver for the fact he is content with his super patriotism.