i think it's time we blow this scene
Sometimes I feel like everyone's just given up, or we've forgotten that we're still in a pandemic. I don't know. It's like, the general feeling I get from people is, "yes, some people are going to die, but it's fine as long as it's not me, and I get my [insert luxury here]." I don't know. I mean, sometimes I feel that I've given up, too. But I don't really need a pandemic to give up on the world, anyway.
A couple of days ago I went to Nando's (alone) for lunch, because the food court was too full, and the sempitness of Nando's was actually more socially distanced than anywhere else that would allow me to eat in time to punch back in to work. There was a young mother at a nearby table, playing a game on her phone and visibly irritated with her 2-3yo son, who seemed very tired. It was 2:15pm, and he looked like he desperately needed a nap. He tried to lie down on the seat and was scolded by the mother. He ignored her. She got up and left him there.
After a couple of minutes I looked around to see if she was paying, or something (although KLCC doesn't really feel like a safe enough place to leave your 3yo alone for any reason.) She wasn't. I didn't see her at all. I remembered being seated in a plane next to a 5yo whose parents were seated together very far away, though. I've watched a couple of videos on youtube by the time she came back for him.
I don't know why I'm thinking of that moment, but I guess I feel that way right now - desperately in need of days-long sleep, and just a little left behind.
On Netflix's Cowboy Bebop
Cowboy Bebop was one of my favourite anime back in high school - I think I watched it either in Form 4 or Form 5, so it wasn't that new, but it was newer than I thought it was. Anyway, one of the biggest moments for me was Faye's flashbacks, because I realised that not only was she Asian, she was Southeast Asian. She was one of us! Wearing a school uniform that was so recognisable, with classmates who were unmistakably Chinese/Malay/Indian. I grew up with Malaysian TV, so it wasn't like I didn't have any representation at all growing up, but it was the first time seeing representation in media I actually enjoyed, and that belonged to a larger world than the one I was in. It said that I could be a part in narratives that didn't make me feel trapped in this small space (I guess I forgot to internalise that without money or connections you're still trapped here, lol). It said that people like us could actually exist in the world at large.
And - I guess that was important to me, more than Spike (who is Jewish, if I remember right) needing to be of Chinese ancestry just because he belonged to the Triad (he was adopted). More than Jet needing to be white (I dunno, I never think any character needed to be white, I guess.)
So when the cast for Netflix's Cowboy Bebop live action came out, I was first kind of excited about John Cho being Spike because I like John Cho, even if his previous roles so far don't help me imagine him as Spike at all. But then I saw that Faye... isn't played by an Asian. I wasn't expecting a Singaporean actress. I wasn't even expecting a Southeast Asian, or non-American Asian, to play the role. I just expected her character to remain Southeast Asian, or just Asian, regardless of the actress. But Faye is now not Asian at all. And I guess that kind of made me pull back a bit - okay, a lot - and now I'm not so sure I want to watch the adaptation after all. Even though Yoko Kanno's awesome music is still going to be a part of it.
On MCU's Eternals
Okay, all my fellow MCU fans at work - and some who aren't MCU fans but follow the movies anyway - kept asking me about my Eternals feels after I've seen the movie. It's been some time now, and I'm still mulling about it. I don't know if I have "feels", I guess. It was... good? I enjoyed it a lot! It didn't disappoint. But.
I guess the MCU fans who super-loved the movie are saying this movie "breaks" the MCU formula, and I'm not really sure it does that. And I guess when it comes to taking sides with the whole Lee/Kirby divide (not that I believe in taking sides anyway!), I would probably stand with Lee. Not because he's a genius (he's not, and Kirby very well may be!), not because he's super talented (he's a hack), but because what he wanted for the Marvel universe - for it to reflect the world outside our windows - is more in line with what I look for in my comics, than Kirby's otherworldly, somewhat inhuman stuff. I never connected with the Eternals in the comics, and I'm not sure I connected with them in the movie.
But - again with the 'but' - I enjoyed it, a lot. I loved that this movie managed to convey each of their personalities despite so many of them not having as much screen time as Sersi and Ikaris. I loved that Gemma Chan is Sersi. I loved Kingo! Now I want to see Kingo meeting Thor - and the rest of the Marvel heroes - so, so much. I would watch the heck out of a Disney+ series just about Kingo in Bollywood. And I feel like Sprite deserves a Disney+ series of her finally being able to "grow up" after centuries of remaining the same.
So... that's my Eternals feels, I guess.
Stay safe!