I’m going to copy and paste my past definition of “rapid fire” for those who don’t know what one is: a rapid fire (at least for this blog) is a collection of topics (4 or 5) that I want to talk about that are too short for one post (each topic will be about a paragraph.) Because of this I put them all in one large post.
White Bear
Somehow whenever I do a rapid fire an episode of Black Mirror always ends up on it. I’ve said before that I have a love hate relationship with this show. It’s interesting and well made, but also terrifying and disturbing at times (most of the time.) Just a warning before we get started: This episode 100% t.v. MA (not only is it gory, but the concept is disturbing. It scared the living daylights out of me) and I honestly don’t know if I recommend it so… spoilers I guess. I’ll do a little summary of the episode first:
A woman wakes up with her wrists cut and pills all around her (presumably she tried to commit suicide.) She has amnesia and is alone. A t.v. with a white symbol flashes at her and a picture of a little girl, that the woman assumes is her daughter, is on the mantle. The woman leaves the house with the picture and is bombarded by people all filming her with their phones. A man, with a shot-gun and a black knit hat that has the same white symbol on it, that is covering his face starts to shoot at her. She cries for help, but the bystanders ignore her and continue to film. She comes into contact with a woman who isn’t effected by the phones or is trying to shoot her and the woman says that the phones brainwash most people into mindless drones. Some people aren’t effected, but they’ve formed gangs called “hunters” and they find other unaffected people and kill them. The other woman also says that if they take out a cellular tower called White Bear then the other people will be “free.” They encounter a hunter in the woods who is disguised as a “survivor” but, they end up escaping to the tower. There they’re trapped by more hunters. All of a sudden the hunters stop and lead the woman to a door that leads to a stage with seating. It’s reveled that the woman and her fiance were actually kidnappers of a little girl. The woman’s finance killed the girl in the woods and she filmed the whole thing. The little girl’s white bear became a symbol of hope during the search for her. The woman’s fiance killed himself afterwards. She, as punishment, is “mind wiped” and put back into a fake simulation over and over again. Presumably this is a whole “eye for an eye” punishment because the woman is “hunted” and “killed” in the woods as people film the entire thing and refuse to help her. 
For this mini post I’m just going to list some themes that I picked up on and thought were interesting:
Hunchback of Notre Dame
I’ve wanted to do a post about this movie (animated version by the way) for a long time. This is by for the most complicated, dark, morally ambiguous, and down right well “shot” (the way the animators made the movie feel like is was shot with a camara is nuts,) is great. I was also shocked that it was rated G (is it crazy that it felt like PG-13?) Anyway there’s not much to say except that despite this movie’s many accomplishments there is one thing that makes me really mad. The gargoyles are used for cheap comic relief and it feels wrong because the tone of the movie is dark and creepy. There was so much potential with these characters. Quazi taking to stone gargoyles because he’s going half insane from solitary confinement and that’s a way we can see into his mind and objectives? Brilliant, but no. Oh no, dear reader because there is the key reason why this movie is close to perfection. It was made by Disney. God damn Disney couldn’t make the movie they arguably should’ve because it would have been too intense for kids. Ok my little rant is over.
Revan and Bastila; are they canon?
This info was brought to my attention by Memo Acebo and theboywhocan11, thanks for the post guys! Ok so this is really freaking exciting, but for you, who might not know who Revan and Bastila are, may need some background information:
Revan and Bastila 
Revan and Bastila are “legend characters” (not canon) from the Knights of The Old Republic. There are many similarities between Bastila and Revan and Rey and Kylo’s character designs and stories. Here’s some back story: Revan was once a Jedi Knight, but he had disagreements with how the Jedi ran themselves so he and his master, Malak, turned to the Dark Side. Before this Revan had fought in the Mandalorian Wars and gained a mask from a Mandalorian woman. He swore he would wear the mask not because he needed it, but to honor the dead woman. Jedi Knight, Bastila Shan grew up on Dantooine (desert planet) with her estranged parents, she goes into battle with Revan and Malak and mortally wounds Revan. In order to save him she forms a force bond with him. A force bond is a bond between two force sensitive individuals. They are usually between masters and apprentices or family/loved ones. Bonded people can sense each other’s feelings, locations and sometimes even thoughts. Revan survives, but loses his memory. Together Bastila and Revan search for star maps and become friends. Soon Malak confronts Revan and kidnaps Bastila. Bastila is tortured and converts to the Dark Side. Bastila tries to turn Revan to the Dark Side, but Revan confesses that he loves Bastila and asks her to come back to the Light. The costumes, theme songs, physical descriptions, force bonds (good chance Kylo and Rey have a force bond) and back stories are similar enough that many theorize Lucas films used this Star Wars legend as inspiration for the sequel trilogy.
Anyway apparently in the TLJ visual guide it says that Luke has a “Jedi Crusader Pendant.” And who is the “Jedi Crusader?” Revan. Darth Revan. Anyway I’m excited.
How Fan Fiction Can Lead To and Become Published Work
This is inspired by Episode 5 of the podcast Metamashina. It was a fanfic episode and it really got me thinking. If you’ve read Carry On by Rainbow Rowel then you know that it’s a Harry Potter, and more specifically a Drarry, fanfic that actually got published as a legit book and is a best seller. This was my first introduction to anything “fanficy” and I’ll admit I’m not an avid fan fiction reader or anything so I may not be the best person to talk about this, but screw it. Overall fan fiction has a relatively negative connotation in our society, but it’s really beneficial.
Fanfic writers not only learn how to be better writers, but they are able to practice writing, with constructive criticism from a wide array of people. Authors such as Rainbow Rowel, Neil Gaiman, Cassandra Clare, Orson Scott Card, Claudia Grey, and many more not only started out as fanfic writers, but became succesful authors with books that, in some cases, focused on themes and characters who are complex and controversal.
“Fan fiction isn’t about simply churning out more and more iterations of existing characters and worlds, or rather, it’s not just about that. It’s about doing things with those existing characters and worlds that their creators couldn’t and wouldn’t do.” -Lev Grossman.
What Grossman says is so important. A lot of times the creators of a media aren’t able to do what they really want to do or they’re too afraid to do it. Their producers either change the creator’s ideas or they shut them down completely. This is really similar to the history of modern dance. The rich supported the dancers, but they didn’t want them to challenge the status quo (because that’s what is keeping them “in power” so to speak.) This is cheesy, but art is all about challenging our expectations and making us ask questions. The first modern dancers were cut off from funds, but they were free to do whatever they wanted. This is kinda similar to fanfics. The writers don’t do it for the money and they have the freedom to explore controversial and sometimes necessary topics.
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