Tumbling (Step by Step)

anyway bojack horseman is one of the most feminist well-written shows of all time and I think people need to know. drop whatever pre-conceived notions you have at the door, because I can't explain how bojack isn't a terrible person or deserves to be portrayed that's not what we're here for.

aside from the fact bojack horseman is the only show with appropriate consequences for the male lead's shitty actions, which I believe is feminist in and of itself, their female leads (princess caroline and diane primarily) are the most people ever, but in addition to that, they're full blown deconstructions of the two most common tropes of a 'fixer-upper' woman ever.

Diane is the deconstruction of the stereotypical feminist bitch. She's far to the left, has no desire for children, and has moral standards so high they actively impede her emotional health and well-being. But she's not a hypocrite. These standards are everyone's, including her own. She pursues them, she follows through. And it burns the fuck out of her! She's bad at stuff, she accidentally tweets on her ghost-celebrity's account that she's getting an abortion, she Has Been Wrong—but Bojack Horseman never tells you look at this stupid feminist look at this crazy bitch of a woman. She's fucking right most of the time! She's not a mockery or a parody like the common trope suggests, she's a person.

Princess Caroline is the deconstruction of the career woman. She's cutthroat, genuinely a little bit evil, and Loves her job. She's downright immoral sometimes, (most of the time), just to help herself or her client get ahead in life. And they just let her be! Her emotions are portrayed complexly, she's allowed to get hurt, she's allowed to cry. She's also never depicted as a stone-cold bitch, in fact she's getting fucked over by other people because she's a woman in hollywood who dared to want men, want things, and have feelings. One of her biggest pursuits in the show is to be a mother, its a full-blown deal breaker for her. And then they let her be one. They acknowledge the struggles of being a career woman while raising a child too! You want a whole episode of the struggle of a worklife balance between a mother, her child, and her demanding job? Bam, cooked right up for you on the fucking skillet!

Honorable mention? Sarah Lynn. Holy fuck if you read that and got shivers, you know Sarah Lynn. Now I CANNOT put her on the same tier as these other two, purely because her thing is a deliberate bait and switch I almost do not want to spoil. One thing about Sarah Lynn: she wants to be an architect. Keep that in mind as you watch the show, "Sarah Lynn wants to be an architect." Genuinely best use of a character purposefully not allowed to be complex, so fucking deep in it she cannot swim out and she wouldn't even want to. Fuck.

I was very surprised to see that the Beast got only one vote.

But I was even more surprised to see how many people voted for Aladdin.

Why is it that “Lying about your identity, for understandable reasons” is such a capital crime in the eyes of so many people online?! Especially when (a) it’s explicitly portrayed as a bad thing within the movie, not excused, (b) he’s called out on it by multiple other characters, and (c) he apologizes, repeatedly, and gives up the charade in the end, even though he thinks it means giving up Jasmine until her father changes the law.

In this poll just now, I even saw someone accuse him of “gaslighting” Jasmine, when she says he reminds her of a boy from the marketplace and he denies ever having been there. Once again, we see people say “gaslighting” when it’s really just lying! He doesn’t try to manipulate Jasmine into doubting her own senses!

These bad faith critics are so obsessed with virtue mirroring, that the story themes often fly over their heads…like a magic carpet.

On a related note, this is probably the best analysis of Aladdin’s character arc:

Those same “critics” tried to apply that same logic to Gaston even though he says this to Belle at the beginning of the movie:

Also, like with Gaston in BatB, TENG establishes why Yzma is the villain and not “actually right” or “had a point” during her introduction:

I was very surprised to see that the Beast got only one vote.

But I was even more surprised to see how many people voted for Aladdin.

Why is it that “Lying about your identity, for understandable reasons” is such a capital crime in the eyes of so many people online?! Especially when (a) it’s explicitly portrayed as a bad thing within the movie, not excused, (b) he’s called out on it by multiple other characters, and (c) he apologizes, repeatedly, and gives up the charade in the end, even though he thinks it means giving up Jasmine until her father changes the law.

In this poll just now, I even saw someone accuse him of “gaslighting” Jasmine, when she says he reminds her of a boy from the marketplace and he denies ever having been there. Once again, we see people say “gaslighting” when it’s really just lying! He doesn’t try to manipulate Jasmine into doubting her own senses!

These bad faith critics are so obsessed with virtue mirroring, that the story themes often fly over their heads…like a magic carpet.

On a related note, this is probably the best analysis of Aladdin’s character arc:

Those same “critics” tried to apply that same logic to Gaston even though he says this to Belle at the beginning of the movie:

Also, like with Gaston in BatB, TENG establishes why Yzma is the villain and not “actually right” or “had a point” during her introduction:

I was very surprised to see that the Beast got only one vote.

But I was even more surprised to see how many people voted for Aladdin.

Why is it that “Lying about your identity, for understandable reasons” is such a capital crime in the eyes of so many people online?! Especially when (a) it’s explicitly portrayed as a bad thing within the movie, not excused, (b) he’s called out on it by multiple other characters, and (c) he apologizes, repeatedly, and gives up the charade in the end, even though he thinks it means giving up Jasmine until her father changes the law.

In this poll just now, I even saw someone accuse him of “gaslighting” Jasmine, when she says he reminds her of a boy from the marketplace and he denies ever having been there. Once again, we see people say “gaslighting” when it’s really just lying! He doesn’t try to manipulate Jasmine into doubting her own senses!

These bad faith critics are so obsessed with virtue mirroring, that the story themes often fly over their heads…like a magic carpet.

On a related note, this is probably the best analysis of Aladdin’s character arc:

Those same “critics” tried to apply that same logic to Gaston even though he says this to Belle at the beginning of the movie: