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What Does The Fox Say? by Team Gaji

Sung Sumin & Ju Sungji ; Valentine’s day special chapter 108

(2/2) part 1 - https://colovred.tumblr.com/post/190285317707/what-does-the-fox-say-by-team-gaji-sung-sumin

Nico is strong, funny, honest, and multifaceted. She is quite literally magical. From finding power and love with Karolina to reconciling with her family and herself, Nico’s arc is dynamic, fun to watch and moving. I’ve never seen that in a television character that looks like me. Her romance is arguably one of the most important things to the show, and the fact that it is a wlw couple blows my mind still just thinking about it.

There aren’t many Asian/Asian American wlw on mainstream American television and showing Nico who’s comfortable with who she is has helped me accept myself. She’s dark and shy and spends a lot of time thinking and worrying. But the writers didn’t change who she is, just gave her a love that helps her find strength and a way to be both dark, but also step into the light: Karolina. They give her that affection and support and they don’t take it away.

They make her flawed, capable of making mistakes and having regrets. I think the perfect example of this is the ending of season 3, which is why I loved it so much. Nico breaks the rules of time for love, just like Chase, and changes the one thing she majorly regrets: losing the love of Karolina. Nico gets the girl, maybe in a unorthodox and unpredictable way, but she does. She’s given the opportunity to fix her mistake, and she takes it. I’ve noticed that often in media the minority characters are responsible for the mistakes of those in the majority, but are given no way to rectify those errors. Nico is given the same kind of redemption arc as a character that I’m sure would normally not look like me or most people of color, and that’s really amazing.

By letting Nico heal and showing three years pass, the show has illustrated that it’s possible for people, no matter what they look like or who they love, to find redemption, but beyond that, find happiness and love. Karolina isn’t just asking Nico to physically find her in the new timeline, but asking her to find light, to find happiness. And Nico is able to promise that she will.

Seeing an Asian American character that isn’t there for humor, for laughs or sexualized has shown me that there’s room for me at the table, on the screen, in the classroom and on the team, not something I ever thought possible before. It’s okay to be powerful. To be strong. To be self reliant. To be honest in how I feel. To wish for things. To love who I want to love. To live how I want to live. For all of it to be done openly. And maybe, just maybe, it’s okay not to care so much what people think.

Because Nico is unapologetically herself throughout the series: she wears black every day, her girlfriend is a glowing rainbow, and she has a magical staff attached to her soul, but the hardest thing for her has been to learn how to be happy. But she does learn, and in turn has shown me that no matter what guilt or dark parts I have inside of me, no matter if I’m frightened or the only person who looks like me in the room, I can learn to be happy too.

A cult classic is basically a movie that has made a major impact on pop culture - it is basically a common favorite within a generation. Most of these cult classics were released in the 90s. As a child, I was literally obsessed with the cinematography of these films - the aesthetics, the choice of actresses, the iconic quotes, the adult rated theme - my interest for these films were organic since I was at such an impressionable age. I recall having the uncut VHS tapes of all of these films and hosting secret watch parties at my friends mansion while their parents were gone. The irony is that these movies now dominate ‘pop culture’ social media, constantly being reanimated and brought into animated images. It’s like a blast from the past - but why the sudden interest?

1. Wild Things - After re-watching this film as a teenager repeatedly after popping my 'Wild Things’ cherry as a child, I became obsessed with Miami in the 90s. The sunshine, the coziness, the extravagant real-estate, it’s lot like a southern Los Angeles without the disgusting traffic, smother smog and Hollywood sign. Basically Wild Things is an extremely sexually charged psychological thriller about two female teenagers, Denise Richardson and Neve Campbell from Miami who seduce an very wealthy school faculty member, Matt Dillon, into engaging with them in sex in order to take his money. Spoiler alert! - it’s basically a movie about a sick game of cat and mouse, greed and lust. Extremely underrated, X-rated film of the 90s.

2. Cruel Intentions - The 90s seemed to have an obsession with films involving sexual manipulation and mind games, I guess it’s safe to say that was going on at the time with all the new tech gadgets (beepers and cellphones - ha), lines of communication became easier to abuse? Cruel Intentions gives audiences a peak into the dark site of the elite aristocratic lifestyle. Cruel Intentions is like a x-rated Romeo and Juliet with a cast of erotically behaving debutantes. An iconic film.

3. The Craft - Neve Campbell has starred in two iconic 90 cult classics, one that is extremely underrated and the other that has become the poster flick for every Millennial girl who think she has witch powers after watching The Craft once. The Craft is basically a film about a clique of socially undesirable witches who link up with a new student at their Catholic school who they discover is actually a natural witch, iconic. All Hell breaks lose with the newfound occult entourage, they completely take over high school with their beauty potions and love spells. Easter egg: Neve Campbell and Skeet Ulrich both star in the Craft as well Scream!

4. Bring It On - Whenever I am having a super awesome day, a string of Bring It On chronicle re-runs airs on the E! Network. I guess it’s because Kirsten Dunst and I share the same birthday? Team Taurus! I guess the Universe destined for this film to be one of my favorite movies, the original Bring It On of course! Every 90s kid knows that all sequels suck! Do I even really need a synopsis for this movie? I’m wanted / I’m hot / I’m everything your not / I’m pretty / I’m cool / I dominate the school!