Hey yeah in the midst of all the hype and the strikes, can we PLEASE fucking talk about this
Don’t forget the first victims when you go see Oppenheimer this opening weekend. Unforgivable not to include them in the narrative.
We love us some Nolan and Cillian but this is also a story that should never have taken place.
For further reading:
This is what happens when the US government goes nuclear-crazy during the Cold War and mines a shit ton of uranium. Lambs born with three legs and no eyes, and human stillbirths and agonizing deformities for those that survive. For decades it was referred to as a Navajo-specific hereditary illness. No one made the link to the mines and the drinking water.
I taught a class last year that discussed narratives of history. In short: how can history be told, in which mediums, and what does that medium intend? One week was devoted to film as way to tell history.
I stood in front of my students (one even gave a truly lovely independently researched presentation on the topic) and discussed the various implications of using film as a historical training device.
Are films real? Is the message real? Can you learn history from it? If so, what do you learn? What is left out?
There are no good, bad, right, or wrong answers when it comes to history and film. Everything is a perspective. But what is important is what is encouraged by the film.
Films often distort reality because it can only show a snapshot of a perceived point in time. Everything is manufactured: it is not real. The script is an imagined conversation, the setting is manufactured and chosen to convey emotions. Everything is pre-determined based on hundreds of biases by all those involved.
And the end product does something. Some people will watch a film and go: that's history exactly as it was. Some will say: no that didn't happen like that! Some will ask what about all the other people that didn't make it onto the film? The lover, the brother, the whole country of victims, or the whole slough of families affected but never seen.
Film making is an act of story telling, at the end of the day. It tells one story, and portrays one message. For 2-3hrs, a message is shown to the audience. It is manufactured reality, and it can often be entertaining. But it is a message. And a film is not history so much as: inspiration.
Oppenheimer is a film that explores the life of Oppenheimer and the various political mechanisms around him. It does not discuss the fallout of the individuals from America - it barely mentions the individuals in Hiroshima/Nagasaki! It is three hours, and it shows one thing.
Oppenheimer cannot fully encapsulate every aspect of the tragedy of the fallout: it can only show an actor portraying a character portraying grief and despair and horror.
But what Oppenheimer can do, is encourage people to look up the events themselves.
To read newspaper articles, such as the above. To read books such as those in this collected bibliography: https://www.atomicarchive.com/resources/books/hiroshima-nagasaki.html By individuals impacted by the bomb.
And, movies such as Oppenheimer draw attention to new research attempts and progress, like that discussed here: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/20/science/trinity-nuclear-test-atomic-bomb-oppenheimer.html Where conclusive data is finally being amassed to show the actual geographic impact of the bomb and who precisely was affected by it.
Oppenheimer, the movie, cannot cover everything. And it is still a fictional representation of history. But it can encourage more learning, and more attention.
I'm not saying the frustration over "Why are we talking about Oppenheimer and not...!" is not warranted. It is! Be frustrated! But also, even if it is not a perfect film: good is coming from it as a whole world of movie goers are now being introduced to something many of them may not know much about in the first place.
It is, like any first encounter with a historical event: a stepping stone. And it is through this stepping stone that more books, research studies, personal stories, and - hopefully - movies can emerge.
Please remember in your critiques of Oppenheimer in terms of: what was missing - to do as OP did and share a piece that is missing. Use Oppenheimer as a starting point to your historical journey. And I hope more people do learn about everything else that those three hours simply couldn't contain.
this post is constantly being updated - please send an ask if you find more!
Oh, look. [Shocked]
do you all remember in the early 2010s where people were talking about freeing the nipple and that mixed-gender sports should become a thing and the removal of period tax and all of that and then some people realised that would mean trans people too ans they instantly decided to revert to bioessentialism 101 and now i have to see grating sentences like Well maybe jeopardy should be gender-segregated because males have a biological advantage in pressing a button
The other similarity between Barbenheimer I don't see media outlets covering:
Seriously, what was up with that smallpox joke in Barbie??
"Airbnb's destroy communities"
Sticker seen in Asheville, North Carolina
The LGBTQ community has seen controversy regarding acceptance of different groups (bisexual and transgender individuals have sometimes been marginalized by the larger community), but the term LGBT has been a positive symbol of inclusion and reflects the embrace of different identities and that we’re stronger together and need each other. While there are differences, we all face many of the same challenges from broader society.
In the 1960′s, in wider society the meaning of the word gay transitioned from ‘happy’ or ‘carefree’ to predominantly mean ‘homosexual’ as they adopted the word as was used by homosexual men, except that society also used it as an umbrella term that meant anyone who wasn’t cisgender or heterosexual. The wider queer community embraced the word ‘gay’ as a mark of pride.
The modern fight for queer rights is considered to have begun with The Stonewall Riots in 1969 and was called the Gay Liberation Movement and the Gay Rights Movement.
The acronym GLB surfaced around this time to also include Lesbian and Bisexual people who felt “gay” wasn’t inclusive of their identities.
Early in the gay rights movement, gay men were largely the ones running the show and there was a focus on men’s issues. Lesbians were unhappy that gay men dominated the leadership and ignored their needs and the feminist fight. As a result, lesbians tended to focus their attention on the Women’s Rights Movement which was happening at the same time. This dominance by gay men was seen as yet one more example of patriarchy and sexism.
In the 1970′s, sexism and homophobia existed in more virulent forms and those biases against lesbians also made it hard for them to find their voices within women’s liberation movements. Betty Friedan, the founder of the National Organization for Women (NOW), commented that lesbians were a “lavender menace” that threatened the political efficacy of the organization and of feminism and many women felt including lesbians was a detriment.
In the 80s and 90s, a huge portion of gay men were suffering from AIDS while the lesbian community was largely unaffected. Lesbians helped gay men with medical care and were a massive part of the activism surrounding the gay community and AIDS. This willingness to support gay men in their time of need sparked a closer, more supportive relationship between both groups, and the gay community became more receptive to feminist ideals and goals.
Approaching the 1990′s it was clear that GLB referred to sexual identity and wasn’t inclusive of gender identity and T should be added, especially since trans activist have long been at the forefront of the community’s fight for rights and acceptance, from Stonewall onward. Some argued that T should not be added, but many gay, lesbian and bisexual people pointed out that they also transgress established gender norms and therefore the GLB acronym should include gender identities and they pushed to include T in the acronym.
GLBT became LGBT as a way to honor the tremendous work the lesbian community did during the AIDS crisis.
Towards the end of the 1990s and into the 2000s, movements took place to add additional letters to the acronym to recognize Intersex, Asexual, Aromantic, Agender, and others. As the acronym grew to LGBTIQ, LGBTQIA, LGBTQIAA, many complained this was becoming unwieldy and started using a ‘+’ to show LGBT aren’t the only identities in the community and this became more common, whether as LGBT+ or LGBTQ+.
In the 2010′s, the process of reclaiming the word “queer” that began in the 1980′s was largely accomplished. In the 2020′s the LGBTQ+ acronym is used less often as Queer is becoming the more common term to represent the community.
what a great day to remember that we should not colonize mars, the whole concept is anthropocentric, imperialist, unrealistic and just weird, and the idea of establishing the same capitalistic systems that have turned out to be our downfall on another planet instead of solving problems on earth is so incredibly short-sighted and power fantasy driven that it makes me want to eat glass. the exploration of outer space should always be expressively and only for the benefit of all humankind, not to fill the pockets of some billionaires with a god complex. fuck elon musk all my homies hate elon musk
Indigenous and Black people: Space exploration isn't even a feasible idea at the moment so these discussions are entirely hypothetically, even veering towards sci-fi, but the way people talk about "expanding human civilization" and using "lifeless and barren" planets as "natural resources" is a really obvious form of colonialist thinking and the same attitude that has led to the destruction of countless ecosystems, communities, and cultures in human history.
Assholes: Oh, so you think humanity should just die on Earth? You think some useless rocks are more important than people? You think it's wrong to destroy entire planets for our own benefit?
🇵🇸 SHOP PALESTINE 🇵🇸
Palestinians will tell you that one of their greatest wishes is that the world would not forget them; this is what their oppressors are aiming to do. Unfortunately the attacks in Sheikh Jarrah and Al-Aqsa mosque are just instances in decades of horrific oppression and ethnic cleansing. You can directly help Palestinians by buying from them and helping them take economic power back.
The above are some examples of the beautiful and high quality products available at Shoppalestine.org including their honestly addictive Olive wood series and stunning embroidered goods (just to name a few).
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Similar and equally beautiful products here too^
You can also donate to one of the emergency appeals here:
The legacy of anti-Black racism is that Black struggle gets deemed the property of all other social justice struggles. The symbols and tactics of Black struggle are deemed the common property of all. Black people are required to show solidarity with [others], without [others] owing solidarity to Black communities. Black oppression is always analogized to other forms of oppression in a manner that disappears Black oppression itself. It is presumed we already know everything about Black oppression, so we can just use it as an empty signifier to explain other oppressions.
My favorite parts of the article
I’m so glad she’s in a healthier place and has been around people who she has felt held by. Facing abuse is already difficult but to face it while the world watches, and questions…..it that’s a whole other deep struggle.
I’m sending her all my love
people celebrating the florida law allowing the death penalty for sexual assault have me so sick rn. like you guys really do not think deeper into an issue at all. not only is the law specifically designed to target trans communities, but it does literally nothing but increase the risk for victims of sexual assault. soooo many children already do not come forward about abuse because they feel guilty about getting their abuser in trouble (and the abuser will specifically guilt them into silence by discussing the potential punishments they may face), which will only get significantly worse if death is on the table. it also means families will be more inclined to handle incidences of abuse “in house,” because they also do not want to have the perpetrator, who is also likely a family member or close friend, killed based on an accusation. plus it just provides greater incentive for the perpetrator to kill their victim in order to prevent anyone from testifying against them. giving the government increased power to kill its citizens without consequence is not and has never been the solution. please utilize your critical thinking skills
and people going “oh dw the Supreme Court has already ruled you can’t use the death penalty in cases of sexual assault” I promise you that is not a solid or reliable argument whatsoever
a lot of tags mentioning that this will also specifically impact Black men which is sooo important to mention because the Supreme Court has already previously acknowledged that the racial disparity in who is sentenced to death and who isn’t and they have ruled that it is “inevitable” that there be racial bias in these decisions but that statistical discrimination is not enough to overturn these sentences. the government knows, wants, and intends for these rules to apply specifically to Black communities, it is not accidental
I don't think enough people realize how earnest drag is. People have this image of drag queens as saying "hehe I'm a man in a dress, isn't that funny," and sure some performers go for that schtick, but we're talking about people who take genuine comfort in being perceived as women, even if it's just in the context of a performance. If you are acquainted with any drag scene in any city, or hell even if you watch drag race, you'll know that many of the performers are trans, and many of the cis performers are visibly gender nonconforming on and off stage. Drag is an outlet for all the feminine expressions and creative impulses performers are told to suppress in their daily lives. People devote their lives to it, create luxury out of thrift finds and literal scraps, try to budget between looks and their next meal, risk rejection from their families or violent attacks, all because they care deeply about drag and the joy they derive from it. And people think it's just a bit?