Living For The Hope Of It All

Forbidden Fruit - Handmade Collage, 2022

Like. Literally how do you miss the point that much?

The horror is not that she is disfigured.

You're not supposed to find her scary.

You're not supposed to be horrified at her appearance.

You're supposed to be horrified that she was victimized by a system that neither cared for the safety of her and her costars as human beings, or about the animals they were working with.

an abusive system that chose to put people and wild animals in close contact and stressful situations for entertainment and profit,

that as one of only two survivors of the attack, Mary Jo is once again a victim of the same system that is attempting to exploit wild animals for the sake of spectacle, but instead of tv producers, it's her fellow survivor continuing to perpetrate the cycle,

the one person who should have been able to understand the danger, the one person who should have realized just how badly this could go wrong, and instead he's embracing the danger, thinking he's special, that he's lucky, that he was "chosen" because he escaped the Gordy's Home attack physically unscathed where the others were ripped apart and died.

We are not meant to find Mary Jo Elliot / Charla Nash scary or horrifying because of their injuries.

We are supposed to be horrified at what she was put through for the sake of entertainment,

the pain and trauma she was put through because other people thought themselves capable of controlling a wild animal,

And the fact that here she is, once again, being subjected to the same horror, only this time it's at the hand of a friend who should have known better, having lived through the same attack.

We, the audience, The Viewers if you will, are not supposed to find Mary Jo Elliot / Charla Nash horrifying for her scars-- we are meant to be horrifed in how she gained those scars.

The entire premise of Nope is a commentary on the exploitation of animals and people for entertainment and the inherent danger therein, and inviting the audience into researching the real history Charla Nash's attack by Travis the Chimp is literally just a way to show this is not just a horror movie, these things happen in real life and we need to stop this from happening again

Like. This movie is as against the exotic pet trade as you can possibly get, especially because this is still very much a problem today, chimpanzees and other primates are still legal to own in almost half of the United States,

the 2011 Zanesville "Zoo Escape" is right there,

And oh look! A quick Google search pulls of an NBC video from June 23rd, 2021 , of someone who owned a Chimpanzee for 17 years having her 50 year old daughter viciously attacked and having to lock herself and her bleeding daughter in the basement so she could call 911 and direct police to do a headshot on the chimpanzee so they could get medical attention.

Like.

This is not a cheap "haha, disfigured people are scary villains and we're showing her for the shock value"

this is literally a horror story about what this woman lived through and is being put through again by someone she should have been able to trust,

Taurus- You may find that you are more connected to nature than others, and that you are generally more in-tune with the cycles of the earth. You are a deeply internal person, meaning that you allow yourself to feel your emotions but may not always express them outwardly. This translates as you being a generally stable, collected, and calm individual.

Cancer- You may experience a variety of strong emotions in a day or a shorter period of time than others. Others may have told you that you possess a maternal quality about you, that you are a good listener, or that you have a comforting presence. You are a deeply sensitive person and you need to be careful who you spend time with as they can influence you easily.

Virgo- You are a generally calm, logical individual who does not tend to express emotions outwardly or extremely by any means. You lose respect for others when they can not maintain their composure. Simultaneously, you are in tune with your emotions and do not tend to misplace them, rather, you possess the strength to express them in appropriate ways.

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Capricorn- You are very grounded in reality and what you can see and feel in your immediate surroundings. Once you've set your sights on a goal or opportunity, you won't stop until you've achieved it. While you do experience emotions, you are usually the last one to openly express them. It is much easier for you to focus your emotions towards accomplishing a goal.

i feel physically ill.

While the mermaid can plunge to the watery depths of the feminine unconscious, she can also surface to sing her songs and have her voice heard. She is able to respond to her mysterious, sexual impulses without abandoning her more human, conscious side. When a woman can trust her instinctive sensuality and sexuality, balance her conscious desires with her unconscious impulses, remain true to herself, and feel proud of her womanly body, she is embodying the archetype of the mermaid