#(canton)

look, I'm gonna piss some people off but the tragedy and scale of The Secret History simply isn't as bloody brilliant as Babel. the secret history has a bunch of rich, white, pretentious characters who haven't experienced pain once in their life. every single character is a bad person. Babel, instead, demonstrates the pain and pity of Academia. The hard work, the double standards and oppression to minorities and women in academia, and the love of the work they do. more than that, every character has a reason. Letty killed because she didn't understand why anyone would turn on Oxford. Ramy was violent and angry because of what happened to his family back in Calcutta. Victoire wanted to bring a better future to the world, wanted the option to live for himself for once. Robin just loved and loved and loved, and then he lost everything he loved except Victoire and couldn't bear to live without it. That- that is the genius behind writing outside of privilege. That is what dark academia should be, because its research outside of what we already assume we know.