Every So Often Im Struck By The Memory Of One Of My College Professors Getting Very Angry With Our Class

every so often im struck by the memory of one of my college professors getting very angry with our class (art history of pompeii 250) because when she excitedly detailed the ingenious roman invention of heated floors in bathhouses via hearths in small crawlspaces, we asked who was tending the fires. she said "oh, slaves i suppose. but that isnt the point". and we said that it actually very much was the point. she had just told us that in roman society there were dozens of people, maybe hundreds, who spent every day of their enslaved lives crawling in cramped, hot, smoky tunnels to light fires to warm pools of water (which they were not allowed to swim in). how could that not be the point?

she wanted us to focus on the art, on the innovation of heated plumbing, on the tiles and decorations of the bathhouses, and all we wanted to do was learn more about the people under the floors. and she didn't know anything more about that. in fact, she said she thought we were focusing too much on superfluous details.

it feels almost hokey to put too fine a point on the idea im getting at here but i will anyway: There are a lot of people who are still under the floors. all these beautiful, convenient, brilliant innovations of modern society (think fast fashion, chatgpt, uber, doordash) are still powered by people working in inhumane, untenable conditions.

the people who run these systems want you to focus on the good - who doesnt love warm water? - but if anything is going to improve or change in our lifetimes, you need to examine these things with an attentive, critical, and empathetic eye. and for fucks sake stop ordering from amazon

More Posts from Caramel-lita and Others

7 months ago

(through gritted teeth) sometimes what's good for your mental health isn't another do nothing day or a little treat sometimes what's good for you is putting in some of the work. Not all of it at once but sometimes you have to finish that essay or at least take the next step or you have to clean your room or at least dust the shelves or you gotta do the laundry or at least put it all in the hamper and it's not fun and it sucks and it sucks and it sucks and it sucks and it sucks and it sucks and it sucks and it sucks and it sucks and it sucks and it sucks and it sucks and it sucks and it sucks and it sucks and it sucks and it sucks and it sucks and it sucks and it sucks and it sucks and it sucks and it sucks and it sucks but you have to because i read a post on the internet that told me that's what being nice to yourself is sometimes

1 year ago

The truths that Crowley hides from Aziraphale are really stacking up.

Crowley never told him the details of the archangels trying to execute him.

Crowley didnt tell him that Gabriel said "shut your stupid mouth and die"

Crowley didnt tell him about the Book of Life punishment.

Crowley hasn't told him what he learned in Heaven about Armageddon 2.0

Crowley hasn't told him about Gabriel's trial either

Crowley hasn't told Aziraphale why he is so sure that even as Supreme Archangel, Aziraphale won't be able to change anything meaningful about Heaven, how Crowley knows that Aziraphale is actually putting himself in a vulnerable position by going back. (My theory is that Crowley was formerly the Supreme Archangel before he Fell, which I have a lot to say about.)

Sometimes Crowley's desire to protect Aziraphale from harm, even from the harm of knowing too much, is so strong it makes him act illogically. This absolutely has to be resolved in order for their relationship to be repaired and I can't wait to see how it plays out.

1 year ago

I hate how in character Aziraphales decision in the finale was. Like I wish I could believe the coffee theory or say that the writing was out of character but it wasn’t. Aziraphale has never gotten over the good vs evil heaven vs hell black and white morality thing and that’s shown throughout the series. It hurts so much more because he really would make that decision.

1 month ago

I think part of the problem of modern storytelling is there has been a shift from character focus to message focus.

It's Doctor Who saying "look the evil alt right podcaster has trapped everyone in a weird heteronormative wish world that's baaaaaad uhb we don't know how to resolve it satisfyingly" vs "Rose dragged along a guy she thought cute and he turned out to be a jerk and used time travel to gain access to future secrets and we see her and the Doctor react to that in a way thar shows us more about their character." It's "the Beatles are here kind of as a backdrop to our drag queen villain isn't that fun woo musical number" vs "let's tell a touching story about Vincent van Gogh's depression and relate that to what our characters are currently going through."

And its not just Doctor Who--it's pervasive. It's "let's tell a character focused story of Anakin Skywalker's fall to the darkness and the love around him that wasn't enough" vs "Star Wars is GAY and look at her BLEED her LIGHTSABER." It's "Here's a 19 year old who lost her parents and has to raise her difficult sister, let's see her motivations and love for her sister" vs "Nani is doing the Right Thing for Herself because going to College is Girlboss!"

And this isn't the first time the focus of storytelling has shifted--before it was character focused, we had concept focus. Doctor Who exploring Roman times or a realm made of stories, where characters carry the plot, but aren't the focus of episodes. Episode IV of star wars was certainly a conceptual idea more than character focused, exploring the world and building it as you go. Old Disney like Snow White explored the concept of retelling a fairytale in animation.

I just think that unfortunately the focus of mainstream stories is not to explore a concept, or interesting characters, but to push a message.


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the funniest part is that older shows and movies still had deep messages even if the focus was on character or concept humans create media based on human experience there will always be a piece of the creator's personality; beliefs; culture; society; etc. that will slip into the art ultimately these little elements become meaning snow white may be focused on retelling a folk tale in another medium but it still has a message about remaining positive in times of hardship it may not have been the main focus but it managed to become an important part of the film without being forceful and it was certainly important to the people who watched it in cinemas. they were struggling with the effects of the great depression. themes and morals have typically been interwoven into storytelling in an organic way that's why when a show tries to shove a lesson or agenda in the viewer's faces regardless of whether the message is considered valuable or not it will always feel like the creators dont trust the audience to derive meaning from the media by themselves when you spoonfeed the message you take the joy out of engaging with the media and when spoonfeeding comes hand in hand with sacrificing elemwnts of cohesive storytelling then you're taking the “story” out of the “storytelling” and if the concern is with imparting more specific themes instead of general ones so many older stories do so without sacrificing other elements allegory for misogyny? handmaid's tale girlboss follow your dreams? legally blonde! ultimately storytelling cannot function if you focus on the message and consequently neglect other elements of the plot but there will always be a message organically woven into a story even if you focus on characters or concepts more and even if you don't prioritize the message at all
1 year ago

I'm not really getting the Aziraphale hate because even without all the pressures of religious brainwashing etc etc we've literally just seen through his eyes:

- Crowley radiating joy at the sheer wonder of the universe only to be crushed by orders from up high

- Those orders being the ONLY reason Crowley fell. Aziraphale knows (and has always known) that Crowley fell simply because no one wanted to listen to his ideas.

- 6000 of Crowley clearly aching to do good in defiance of his own nature

- Crowley admitting how desperately lonely that defiance is for him

- Crowley being BETTER than Aziraphale at morality and making Aziraphale better as a result

- Evidence that no one is ever going to be chill with Angel/Demon relationships unless they are too powerful to be stopped and/or willing to vanish

- That they are never going to escape the monitoring of heaven/hell (they literally were *stalked* by both sides the entire season) so they can't just live unnoticed among humans

- Even during their last few years of 'freedom' Crowley has still been desperately unhappy. He's at the 'what's the point of it all???' stage BEFORE anything bad happens in S2. For all he talks about the preciousness of their life, Crowley is radiating misery during his freedom whereas Aziraphale actually seems happy.

Like why WOULDN'T Aziraphale see this offer as the perfect solution? Crowley can get what he always wanted - to do good without anyone stopping him, with Aziraphale helping. It can be exactly like the nebula scene forever - only this time Aziraphale can just bask in Crowley's joy.

From his pov he is sacrificing his own life on Earth for THAT.

Oof we are in the last 20% of a very angsty slow burn, kiddos.

1 year ago
Two Sign Memes In One Day! Wow!

Two sign memes in one day! Wow!

1 year ago
The Sea Is Filled With Jerks.
The Sea Is Filled With Jerks.
The Sea Is Filled With Jerks.
The Sea Is Filled With Jerks.
The Sea Is Filled With Jerks.
The Sea Is Filled With Jerks.
The Sea Is Filled With Jerks.
The Sea Is Filled With Jerks.
The Sea Is Filled With Jerks.

The sea is filled with jerks.

1 year ago

no but it's the way for aziraphale "nothing lasts forever" meant "i'm willing to give up the bookshop if it means i can be with you safely" and for crowley it meant "nothing lasts forever, not the bookshop, not earth, not us"

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caramel-lita - You Are Not A Robot
You Are Not A Robot

Carmelita (19, she/they): Professional Language & Literature Nerd, Queer Entity, and Recovering Workaholic

54 posts

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