#100daysofwriting, Day Twenty-four

True story

Me: (describing hot Clexa bath scene)

Pal: So ... which episode is that from?

Me: Oh ... um, the scene’s from a beautiful fanfic from Nordyr. You should read it. 

Pal: Are you watching the 100 anymore?

Me: Yes... ish.

The main character in my current wip has two motivations, the one they know about and the other they really need to do: rescue their friends from bad things and not settle for a job they hate so much they numb themselves with booze and other vices.

The network group gave me the hostname I asked for. Hopefully it won’t kill any of my programs ...

To be honest, I did not even think of the last supper when I saw the opening ceremony. The segment in question had so much fabulousness - a big party and fashion show with a diverse set of models: fat, queer, skinny, a man and woman kissing, different skin tones, a break dancer who used crutches, amputees. It’s too bad the joy was not shared by all.

I hear so many people hating on the Olympics for showing drag queens reenacting the Last Supper. That does seem pretty blasphemous. I'm curious to hear your thoughts about that

The morning after the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony, my mom expressed her disgust at drag queens recreating da Vinci’s last supper and said it’s fine if they don’t believe but they shouldn’t mock others. I had no idea what she was talking about, I watched the opening ceremonies but I missed that. She admitted she didn't notice it either but it was all over her morning news.

Tbh, I figured if she was going to be offended by anything, it would be the multi-racial ménage à trois

Or possibly the guillotined Marie Antoinette holding her head

I found online that what she was referring to is what took place on a bridge over the river Seine. There was a table which had a red carpet down the middle which served as a catwalk. At the center of the table was seated a woman wearing a silver headdress, surrounded by many drag queens and dozens of dancers and artists. Models featuring fashions from France's most promising young designers walked the runway.

The specific part of the ceremony that caused the offense was a closeup of the people at the table. The tableau was reportedly based on a painting by Dutch artist Jan Harmensz van Biljert called "Feast of the Gods," painted in 1635, and is housed in the Musée Magnin in Dijon, France. In the painting, the Greek gods on Mount Olympus have a banquet to celebrate the marriage of Thetis and Peleus.

The figure seated at the center of the table is Apollo, being the sun god he has a halo of light around his head.

One thing I liked is they updated the idea of Apollo with his lute to be portrayed by French DJ Barbara Butch with her equipment. Barbara advocates for several causes, such as acceptance of obese people and lesbian rights. She says her "aim is to unite people, gather humans & share love through music for all of Us to dance & make our hearts beat at unisson! Music sounds better with all of Us!"

They also had a blue Dionysus, the Greek god of wine, fruit, vegetation, and festivities.

All that meaning wasn't explained during the broadcast and went over my head, but I guess it makes sense to have a scene in the Olympics that gives a nod to the Greek gods, where the Olympics began, and which is meant to convey celebratory festivities, and is based on a painting housed in a French museum.

Having a bunch of people on one side of the table reminded some people of Leonardo da Vinci's "Last Supper" painting.

The ceremony’s artistic director Thomas Jolly has said it was meant to celebrate diversity and pay tribute to feasting and French gastronomy. "The idea was to create a big pagan party in link with the God of Mount Olympus — and you will never find in me, or in my work, any desire of mocking anyone," Jolly said.

My guess is that if drag queens wanted to portray the Last Supper, they're talented enough that it would've been clear that was the intent.

Even if they meant to portray the "Last Supper, that painting has been recreated in many creative ways and I've never heard anyone upset about it, but maybe in this case they're upset because there were queer people involved.

Let's say the Olympic organizers did intend for this scene to be reminiscent of the "Last Supper," I'm good with it. Jesus would invite everyone to have a seat at the table, which is a good message for the Olympics to convey, all are welcome. No person at that table would be excluded from Jesus' table, but there's a number of Christians who exclude themselves if it meant not having to sit with queer people and others they perceive as sinners, which is ironic since Christianity teaches that we're all sinners.

In summary, I think some people misinterpreted the intention of what was presented, and a group of conservative media types promoted that misinterpretation to cause outrage because that would generate views and clicks. Most people who are angry by this weren't upset when they saw it originally aired, they are furious because they were told what they should think about it

Day forty-six

of @the-wip-project‘s challenge.

Q46: What does your editing/revision process look like?

A46: I’ve been thinking a lot about this. My former process was not working for me as I ended up with multiple drafts of the same scene. My current approach (and subject to change) is to write out the whole story then perform a series of editing pass throughs with specific intentions, e.g., plot structure, characters behave within character, believable science, doing rather than saying/explaining, appropriate tech/ fashion/ music per era, grammar and spelling, “awesome” eradication. 

#clexa #clexa analysis

“Substitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very,' your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.” -Mark Twain

Day Twenty-six

of @the-wip-project‘s chalenge:

Q26: Which character is an absolute pain to write and why?

A26: I like the characters in my orginal wip but sometimes the main character is a cringe worthy awkward, anxious mess and that is difficult to describe because I care so much about her.

Day forty-seven

of @the-wip-project‘s challenge.

Q47: What kind is your favorite character to write?

A47: Happy cynic.