My Illustrative Life

Right now I am watching The Mummy Returns on the Hallmark channel. Which is serendipitous - I have been planning to write this post all week.

So: 2001’s The Mummy Returns, starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weiss. I really, really enjoy this movie! I didn’t see it in the cinema, but I’ve owned it long enough that my copy is on video. It’s just.. basically flawless*, as a movie to feel good whilst watching. It has:

• A married couple who are in love
• who have a child
• who isn’t annoying
• who is actually fun to watch! He’s spunky!
• The wardrobe is marvelous, all 1933s archaeologist-adventurer/stylish English lady wearing egyptian burnished-deco
• The supporting cast all have personalities and are not crippled by their quipping
• Emotions are engaged despite the action-movie set pieces, the cg monsters, etc
• Imhotep is one of my FAVOURITE VILLAINS EVER.

Let’s talk about Imhotep.

In this film - which is a sequel to the remake of the 1932 Karloff picture The Mummy - Imhotep is played by Arnold Vosloo, in place of Boris Karloff.

Part of the reason I like Arnold Vosloo is that I think he looks like G1 Megatron, and I both find that amusing and enjoy Megatron, so I start this situation with kindly feelings.

In this version of the history, Imhotep was (basically) advisor to the Pharaoh who fell in love, reciprocated love, with the Pharaoh’s woman. And from here-on in, SPOILERS. Be ye warned. Imhotep and Anc-su-namun are discovered together, and he is taken away to be executed whilst she kills herself, unwilling to stay the property of the Pharaoh. In the twenties Imhotep is raised - as per the curse he was buried under - and searches out Anck-su-namun, only to be foiled. In Returns he (guess what!) returns - raised by the reincarnation of Anck-su-namun, and they plan to gain the power of the Scorpion King and live it up like they never got to before.

Imhotep’s motivation is, basically, he misses his girlfriend and he’s cranky after being woken up from being murdered horribly (twice). I feel for him; I miss my [gentleman]friend and I too am cranky when I wake. Occult rivalries, too, bring out a worse side than my usual face. He has a minority of the movie’s kills. And his reaction to his final betrayal.. well, do you have a heart? You may find it squeezed for him, the poor mite.

Right??

As per last time: I owe this movie to Karloff’s movie. And he did make that movie; if you haven’t seen the Universal The Mummy it is available for free, legal download on archive.org. It wowed me, to be honest. I was so-so until the close-up on Karloff-Imhotep’s awakening. That, friends, is acting.

And I enjoyed, enormously, comparing the old Mummy with the new Mummys. These remakes.. in my opinion, they are respectful. The build on the story. There are a couple of references that really made me smile, but the story weaving is my favourite. Take 1932Mummy on one hand, and the 1999/2001Mummy(Returns) on the other. If you watch one hand, you will have a fine cinematic experience. If you watch the other, ditto. But if you watch both, you will have a better experience. They work together, they’re a dialogue. The way the nuances of the story and the characters change between the eras, the way the new ones are the old one re-worked rather than simply re-written. The Mummy vs The Mummy will give you some of this, but for the full joy Returns is a must. It is a rare breed of sequel. I think it is a fine tribute.

Once again, let us cheer! Thank you, Boris Karloff! Thank you very much!

Oh, and one more thing - Don’t bother with Tomb of the Dragon Emperor That movie can go.. fish.

*Bar the only-features-two-ladies (three if you count the “I am a gold-digger with my non-1933 cleavage” five-second cameo) catch, natch. :/

Catching sight of this article whilst researching an upcoming post (no, really; just because I haven’t done what I’ve said I will yet doesn’t mean I won’t), “Boris rescued by feminists” I thought how absurd that sounds, as if we were some sort of species. Well, we aren’t, obviously.

I always thought those This is what a feminist looks like shirts were a bit ridiculous, but.. then again, I used to think that “feminism” was a bit ridiculous. How we grow!

Naturally, in the headline vein, my title is misleading. It is really only one door, repeated. And actually I only mimed knocking on it. But then AGAIN, I do fairly often knock on doors. So the title stands*.

*Not literally! In this case..

ETA: I just noticed that one might misunderstand my facial illustrations as a statement re: mentioned feminism. They aren’t, I just like to draw on my face for a) privacy and b) practice. I drew these two before I started thinking about what I would write today.

Having written in brief about Scary Go Round yesterday, I pondered last night how long I’d been reading it. I thought, wasn’t I introduced to it by someone I knew in school? I’m sure I was. But I haven’t talked to them regularly in.. ages.. hi if you’re listening! :] ..but I can’t have been reading for THAT long, can I?

Apparently I can, though, because I just looked up John Allison on wikipedia, and SGR has been running since 2002.

Don’t you think that’s amazing? Seven years?

I looked up Bobbins, the preceding story, as well and I’m remembering that I read that, too! So really, the fiction and imaged of Mr Allison have been in and out of my brain for seven or eight years, and that’s pretty.. I dono, interesting somehow.

But like I said yesterday, the illustration - as well as the scripting and plotting - grew and grew, skillwise, throughout. It’s not getting any weaker in Bad Machinery, the three-years-later SGR sequel (new characters, but not ALL new characters, and same town-setting). I want to show you some examples, and a little bit of discussion, about just why this art is so good.

Apart from the general good draughtsmanship, this stuff has heart and quirk. There’s a sort of joyful wickedness that seeps into a lot of the expressions, and the levels of detail of body language is quite marvelous. Even if you have problems with the type, or if you have other reservations, I don’t expect anyone to feel able to deny that these people have character. And that’s the thing - I think that John Allison is sort of a phenomenal character designer.

Most of not all his women have that suited-for-empire-waists shape, the nipped-most point of the body being just below the breast, and most of them are thin. He draws faces with the same conventions and there’s not too much of what you might call variety of nose. But.. he draws people. People who know what they look like, who project themselves with their outsides, who look how they live, who have opinions and tastes. Esther is a goth, but she is a person who is a goth. She’s not a person made of gothiness. They’re all (the main cast) kind of hipstery, kind of perky, but they all give the sense that they exist. They really do.

John Allison puts his characters in clothes that people who have real world lives might actually wear, and I cannot stress enough how grateful that makes me! It proves it’s possible, it enhances my enjoyment of the comic so much. LISTEN, Comic book artists and illustrators in general! Just be aware of people’s relationships with their clothes and garments in general, because they are a part of the story.

Observe.

Tell me that Milford is not a skilled representation of a real type of schoolboy. Go on. I dare you.. to LIE to me!

Look at the level of detail! That face! The armpit hair!

Eustace’s design is a bloody triumph. That hair. He is such a real sixth-form slightly posh boy.

Scary Go Round’s world is not a world where horror movie stuff doesn’t happen. This is another reason why I hold it in esteem.

From the last page of the last strip of Scary Go Round:

Check it out, huh? And thanks, John Allison, for telling these stories and making these pictures. Your work is fine work.

You might not think, on first assumption, that 1940s British Girls’ School Stories (for young ladies) and 1970s american punk groups would have anything in common. (You might think that they might, in which case hurray for you and you maybe have nothing to learn here. Stick around anyway!)

They do though! I shall tell you some ways how, but in a roundabout fashion.

This above is one of my favourite photographs. I pinched it off punk77’s “Women of Punk” sub-site, which is a good place to visit. Go visit.

They’re so gangly and angle-y and you can feel the momentum in the moment. The black splashes are just right against the high-contrast washed out background colours and the facial expressions are wild-goofy and candid. They look like they’re having fun and feeling their own power; not power over or against something but just the power that it is to have a body that’s yours and enough of a purpose to be able to blow it off for a while and resent having to work if you feel like it. It’s two teen girls in matching bikinis and boots but skimpiness isn’t always exploitative, and even if it’s meant that way sometimes the sheer self-contained awesomeness of the wearer blasts through that and turns a “hey, jailbait’ll sell” bikini into an outfit that actually says “I am so fantastic and alive that I could go naked, but y’all have no right to my privates so HAH”.

Now I don’t know what made that photo, but that’s what it says to me. When I saw it (researching feminism in punk as a prelude to character design) the Runaways became one of my favourite bands. The fact that their music speaks to me and is, actually, really good is just the silver icing on my cloud-shaped cake.

I darned my dad’s jumper earlier:

I wasn’t taught darning at school. We had FT, which was Food (and?) Technology, where we learnt (or rather, did) basic-ish cooking and learnt how to thread a sewing machine and did a couple of fabric projects (make a bag, make a hand-puppet) but darning was old hat, I guess? Whatever the reason, I wasn’t taught it.

When I was very small I read my first “grown up” Enid Blyton book, Claudine at St. Clare’s. It is still my favourite Blyton, though maybe tying with Fifth Formers at St. Clare’s.

St. Clare’s was a girls’ boarding school somewhere in England, and the series of books followed a pair of twins and their classmates through their journey up the school. Claudine was a French girl, niece of the French Mistress, who joined in what I think is year ten and made much charming mischief whilst learning that English-British values are not so outmoded after all. I do not pretend that Ms Blyton was a perfect author, and there are many aspects of her books that make me go “oh, no.” such as cultural stereotyping, bullying and the free ride that Fathers get in regards to their daughters’ upbringing in many of her books (I never read one of her gollywog-featuring stories).

Naturally perhaps, I heroine-worshiped Claudine. She was slight and brunette, just like me, and everybody liked her even though she was a bit naughty. She could get her way quite easily, and she was funny and talented. What she was talented at was sewing. To get out of gym class (she was not one for sports) she purposefully crossed (the) Matron, knowing that she would be assigned darning to do in her sports-time; this was a harsh punishment to the majority of the very Good, English Gels. Claudine did her darning perfectly, and enjoyed it, and finished in good time enabling her to take tea with her aunt before her classmates returned inside.

Darning, for me, is a symbol of capability and charm.

Nineteen-forties British Girls School novels and nineteen-seventies American punk bands have this in common: they are a proof that feminism is not just something you protest for and dream of and work towards. It is something that you have, because of your innate human power. You can come out on top, in the moment, however you go there and no matter what you come from. It’s not all about getting a law changed or a policy implemented; feminist victory is a part of your everyday life.

You Can Do It.

I want to see this film so much. Roller Derby looks amazing (AMAZING), and who doesn’t love a movie about finding something that makes you want to shout FUCK YES and leaping for it? Especially (especially) one that passes the Bechdel test.

The uniforms are nifty too, the whole movie looks so bright and.. spunky? I’m not a fan of Drew Barrymore’s acting career or public persona but who knows. Maybe she’ll turn out to be a great director. And I’m yet to enjoy an Ellen Page movie but. Who knows? I’m optimistic!

The nearest I have ever been to Roller Derby is Saturday night Roller Discos in primary school. I’m not desperate for bruises or anything, but if I had to pick a sport..

The transformative powers of image changes, and subsequent de/empowerment. One of my FAVOURITE THEMES EVER.

Heart heart heart, The Legend of Billie Jean!

EDIT: “You keep quiet, Binx. It’s wonderful.”

..I love you, movie.

Having just watched a tv trailer for the movie Gamer, I find myself of the opinion that if you don’t have a female name amongst those made a Big Deal of in the trailer, you shouldn’t be allowed to show ANY ladies at all. Or girls. It’s basically demeaning.

Especially if the one lady you do show is winking, and has either dyed hair or a wig (which are both Hollywood code for HOTSEXY) and heavy eyeliner (which is Hollywood code for HOTSEXY).

EDIT:

The following are all of the Gamer stills available from aceshowbiz.com that feature ladies.

I am overwhelmed by the range of expression and personality that the publicists have chosen to display in their actresses. -_-

These professionals can also be seen in:

Hitch (Amber Valetta plays an A List film star, who is written respectfully and like a real person rather than a shiny object),

What Lies Beneath (Amber Valetta plays the dead wife of the Protagonist’s husband; she’s dead, but she’s not letting him win and she doesn’t hold a grudge against his new wife)

Justice League: The New Frontier (Kyra Sedgwick voices Lois Lane (Lois Lane!))

Mystery of the Batwoman (Kyra Sedgwick voices Batwoman (Batwoman!))

The Woodsman (Kyra Sedgwick plays a woman dating an ex-convict, who turns out to have gone to jail for child molestation)

Drag Me To Hell (Alison Lohman is cursed and has to fight to save her soul (please try to reject the gypsy stereotyping I have heard is in the movie)),

Or (if you don’t mind dubs rather than subs) the english version of Nausicaa Nausicaa (Alison Lohman voices princess Nausicaa is a warrior/eco warrior/pacifist trying to prevent war and save the world and it is animated beautifully).

I would recommend any of these movies over Gamer. That is what happens when you market badly, media people!

Mmmmm.

Course, it also means you can’t hold a camera. Pictures by my sister! Or I might have taken some. I can’t actually remember.

Something I think about a lot is responsibility, of the role model sort.

It’s not in evidence on this site yet but I work a lot on a project I share with my beloved where such matters are incredibly important. We have extensive plans (scripts, arc-synopsis(esesesPLURAL), character biographies, character designs, turnarounds, character wardrobes, characters of multiple levels of importance, set background information, research, character tics, growth charts (physical and emotional) and so on) for a children’s series, a cartoon. That isn’t the kind of thing one should do half-assedly; Children matter a great deal, and what their heads and hearts are filled with matter so much. I spend sleepless nights fretting over permutations of the various messages we could be sending with our designs and our character interactions and who the main roles go to and so on and so on.

This is not political correctness gone mad. This is us, gone caring.

The social responsibility of character design (and by extension, the framework of an entire series or feature (yes, character design IS that important)) is something that fascinates and awes me and I honestly think that it doesn’t get paid enough attention.

“The media” gets the blame, and rightfully, for a lot of the ills of the world - particularly, relevantly, for the mental health, mental strength, personality, and opinions of individuals relating to their interpersonal relations - but animation lurks in the shadows of these debates. Animation isn’t credited with much importance in the mainstream of the British reporting media and so it naturally escapes much criticism beyond “Disney princesses are so thin! That’s sending screwed up messages!” And you know, it really is sending screwed up messages.

I wrote a huge chunk of essay on the semiotics of Disney Princess character design, and it made me feel awful. I love those ladies, they filled a lot of my childhood, but those images are doing our children wrong. Children never stop counting, even when they are grown up. I’m not sure if it’s worth showcasing some examples of what I feel is really bad, irresponsible character design. It might be though, and so I am going to do it.

First though here’s an example of it done wonderfully, hugely right:

And I am not talking about the live-action version.

Like the title says, I mostly like (the public persona of) David Mitchell a lot. He’s great great on Peep Show and when I see him on panel shows, I often want to run at him and shout YES EXACTLY, THAT’S SO TRUE! I wouldn’t if I met him. But the urge is there.

I also like to read things he has written (you should buy That Mitchell and Webb Book, whenever it comes out!), because they too are smart and amusing and he obviously has a fascination with and great fondness of this thing called ‘Britishness’ and I do too. O I do! But David, David.. you have made me sad. Well actually not sad so much as angered and annoyed.

I didn’t know until the ninth of August 2009 (I know this because the Observer website is organised even if I’m not) that he has a column in the Observer. Once I knew, I read it, and to start with I was impressed and so perversely GRATEFUL because he was actually saying feminist things. It was going so well! Click the link and see for yourself; on the whole, he’s acknowledging everyday sexism all over the shop, acknowledging his privilege as a (white) male, saying that misogyny in its many forms isn’t only in evidence but is a BAD thing.. It was so refreshing.

But then I got to the last paragraph, wherein lies the following (bolding mine):

These customs are too ingrained: women will always be expected to shave their legs. Intellectually, I understand that it’s just an annoying, pointless faff but, like most men, and even though our forefathers must have happily fancied hairy-legged women for millennia, I find it a bit gross when they don’t. God forbid that most women should ever take the same view about back-waxing.

Right. Thanks, mister Mitchell. Sexism is bad, but you can’t even be bothered to hold back your zeitgeist opinions about every post-puberty female and her relative attractiveness to you in an national paper..?

Of course, intellectually, I understand that it’s uncomfortable when good people feel the weight of their own privilege, but I find it a bit gross when they proceed to throw it around in public anyway. This one’s for you, Corrigan! My slightly gross, hairy lady leg.

Horror from the seventies. I crack myself up.

Yesterday I happened to notice that the UK channel G.O.L.D was broadcasting the first episode of Maid Marian. I watched this show when I was tiny (It was originally shown when I was two) so naturally I thought I’d catch it again, for nostalgia’s sake. It started well! With Barrington singing us in, and the general cast being pretty funny and inviting, and the world-building going well. Then Marian came on screen, and I cried.

I don’t mean just damp eyes, I mean I cried. I think I know the reason why!

I believe that Maid Marian, of CBBC television show Maid Marian and Her Merry Men, was my first female role model. Even more importantly she took a story that is one of the basic pillars of my cultural soul and gave it to me.

Let me be clearer.

I am British and I am English, and in terms of cultural mythology for me the Arthurian tangle and the Robin Hood stories are where it’s at. That’s what my country is to me. These stories about being good and kind and noble and upright and believing in one’s principles, giving hospitality and fighting for justice, belief in the positive aspects of royalty, woods and forests and hills and cliffs and grass and castles and tents and pageantry and tunics and hats and boots and belts and doing one’s best. These stories belong to me, in my heart. Unfortunately I do not belong to them. Because I am a girl.

Both those sets of stories are about a man, with a gang of men who go out being good and brave (I have always wanted to be good and brave) and having adventures in beautiful countryside, with a woman who spends a great deal of time waiting for them and having to fit the strictures of courtly life. Guinevere and Marian were The Girl. If you haven’t experienced it, can you imagine how it feels to have the pressure of “this is your role, and it’s the crappiest one”? It hurts, actually. I either had to take the crappy love-interest, B-plot character role or take the role I wanted and feel sort of guilty and uncomfortable. The roles I wanted, by the way, tended to be Lancelot (because he was ultra-good, and tried the hardest, and I felt he probably had curly hair) and Will Scarlet (because he was a bit rakish and cheeky, and I felt he probably had curly hair).

Then along came Marian, and she was Lancelot and Will, and she was a lady in charge of the Merry Men. She’s good and brave and she cares and she likes men who are good and care about justice and are just a little bit rough. She lives in the forest and rallies the troops! She is wonderful. And I am so grateful to and for her! When you’re really little it doesn’t so much matter if you’re being shown serious stories or not, it matters what the story is telling you. Maid Marian told me that I belong to the stories that belong to me after all and I have no doubt that she made me braver and more secure. If I ever meet Kate Lonergan or Tony Robinson, I hope that I get to shake their hands. With a swelling heart!

 Pictures via robinofkensington.homestead.com and dvdtimes.co.uk; Watch the animated Outro (with excellent theme)

Mum and daughter - to the food tent. Father and son - to the tra’ers! And they’re the ones who get to EAT the food, too. Fuck off, Sainsbury’s. Sigh.

Awwww teenagers. They have such troubles! The more I (re)watch The Tribe, the more I notice that every character is actually secretly hilarious. They are all adorable. Hilarious and adorable! (Except for Ellie. Go away Ellie! You’re unpleasant!) Aaahhh what a bunch.

For example, Pride. He has terrible hair! He means well! He is a ridiculous flirt! He is a hippie-type who occasionally FLIPS OUT, and has a warrior bond with Lex. He really does mean well! HE IS SO FUNNY.

Not funny like on-purpose funny, with jokes. Just.. just watch the show. Images via tribeworld (and youtube. DVDs won’t allow image-capture!)