#kendralynora

Rules: you have to tag 20 followers you want to get to know better

I was tagged by @kendralynora (omg, you’re *really* tall, I didn’t know.)

Gender: is socially constructed

Star Sign: I’m very fond of Orion tbh

Height: 158cm

Sexual Orientation: lesbian

Hogwarts House: Gryffindor

Favourite Colour: ughhh I think I say a different colour every single time someone asks

Favourite Animal: horse

Average hours of sleep: eh... 7, probably

Cat or dog person: Dog even if I’ve never had one (I do have chickens)

Favourite fictional characters: tldr

Number of blankets I sleep with: one

Favourite singer/band: Queen, David Bowie, Janis Joplin, EeLST, Mina... does Hamilton cast count as a band?

Dream trip: I’d really love to go sailing

Dream job: translator

When was this blog made: 3 years ago?

Number of followers: 274

What made you decide to create this blog: Orphan Black

It’s not really about an authentic vs an...

i feel ya, i hate the trope as well, but my point wasn’t authentic vs exaggerated, bc room is not exaggeratedly canadian despite being based on a novel written by a canadian author, filmed & set in a canadian city. it just feels like an inauthentic representation. & that’s what i like about orphan black + it’s canadian qualities - the authenticity.

if we follow your lgbt coding analogy, my point has less to do with gay characters being coded in a way only recognizable to gay audiences and more with straight writers attempting to retell a story about a gay character when they have no way of knowing their experience to the point where it comes across as inauthentic.

although lgbt representation + the portrayal of canada as a place are vastly different to the point where i seriously hesitate comparing them (notice i am not even using the word ‘representation’ when i speak of canada in the media because i do not want to draw that comparison - they are definitely not the same thing!), in both instances i would rather authentic experiences that are coded vs inauthentic, obvious portrayals of an experience. that is, if i had to pick just one. which in many cases i do, as i mentioned above the approval of international audiences is what drives many canadian viewers to our own culture. for example, no one in canada gave a shit about drake until he made it big in the states. this is even reflected by the way canadian content laws work - the media bound by these laws favours canadian content that has gotten international approval, thus perpetuating the trope.

okay, so this is the thing. OB “earned” the right...

oh that’s interesting, i’m definitely going to look for those interviews! (it also makes complete sense to me because imo, canadians are most likely to value their own culture after it gets international approval). i was actually curious about a perspective for someone not from toronto because to me the show screams it - i found it glaringly obvious even in season 1. to contrast, the movie Room, also filmed & set in Toronto, also makes no mention of the city’s name, but it’s references and pointing to the city as its setting took me out of story. this is probably exacerbated by landmarks chosen - they were not landmarks typically visited by locals or otherwise were so distantly located within the city that they reeked of inauthenticity to me (no one living in don mills is going to etobicoke for burgers, i don’t care how good they are, it’s not gonna happen). in contrast to ob, which feels authentic in it’s use of place. the question then becomes whether there is more value in an authentic portrayal of a canadian place or a portrayal that’s visible to outsiders?

Here’s my gift to @kendralynora! (view/download larger versions here!)

I made this sort of action poster-y thing (Myka might Tesla you but H.G. will bring you down with just a look):

Then I thought it wasn’t holiday-ish enough, so I added a few things:

FUCKING RAZZMATAZZ okay so i actually really do like the color but like. this infuriates me. so here are some other red/pink crayola color names: pig pink, cotton candy, brink pink, mauvelous, radical red, wild watermelon, carnation pink, salmon, and lavender. with all of those, we can easily see what color they should be. it’s in their names! and then there’s fucking razzmatazz. what color is razzmatazz? well, unless you have the fucking crayon box in front of you, nO ONE KNOWS. orange? yellow? shrug emoji!! like it really is a pretty color i really like it, but can we at least call it “razzmatazz red” like razzmatazz is not a stand-alone color name

she has a Jets shirt!! :D