Okay, I noticed that in the first trailers for Thor 2 -- it's fluffy and wavy, not slicked down straight. I've always considered that the Odin-Thor-Loki dynamic was extremely close to the Big House triangle of slaveowner-legitimate son-mulatto bastard. It's clear early on that Loki is "passing" for Asgardian, but Odin knows the truth so never really treats Loki as Asgardian.
The parallel with the hair just hit me, because hair is political, especially for black people, all the more so for black women, and let's not forget how much feminine energy Loki carries. The fact that Loki straightens his hair has a lot of hidden weight.
Ah, but it has a wider application than that. Recall marcelled hair, putting a wave in a flapper's otherwise straight hair? That was a touch of ethnic exoticism, while the curling hair of boys in the 50s would require hard brushing and tonic to tame 'respectably'.
Poor Loki. Somebody needs to take that boy aside and talk to him about hair politics. Within Love Is For Children, Betty and Bucky have already discussed some similar issues, and there's Sam Wilson as a possibility too.
>> Well there is Natasha straightening/flattening her hair right before the big battle in Cap2. <<
True. I think Natasha's hair is a perfect metaphor for what she is. Its natural state is irrelevant. It is whatever she needs it to be; whatever she needs to be. Like liquid takes the shape of its container.
>> I'm currently working on themes of repatriation and recovery via Bucky. <<
I really like that. I've done something different with it in Love Is For Children, but I'm enjoying what other people do.
Bucky and Steve are flip sides of a coin that expresses quite a bit about soldiers and war. Bucky is the extreme example of poor orders and total inability to contravene them.
I've actually got a couple posts up at my dw on some of these issues, esp as relates to Pierce.
>> Bucky and Steve are flip sides of a coin that expresses quite a bit about soldiers and war. Bucky is the extreme example of poor orders and total inability to contravene them. <<
Yes, that's true. The Winter Soldier was someone's idea of a perfect soldier: one who was incapable of saying no.
>> I've actually got a couple posts up at my dw on some of these issues, esp as relates to Pierce. <<
It's meant to discourage other people from doing the same. Explicitly and with malice aforethought, it is meant to protect abusive practices. That's a problem. It's bad enough when the victims are individuals, but when someone is fucking up the whole country? That could be civilization-wrecking.
Actually, there is fun to be had here too with James Buchanan Barnes in his various iterations- I have to believe the Winter Soldier we see in the movie is not quite as he'd been for his whole career as a seized weapon; he'd be more effective as a ghost if he could blend in.
I think Pierce is using this as a rah-rah for the forces of Hydra. The Winter Soldier as he is in Captain America 2 is very akin to the over-inscribed masculinity that's been running over the toy aisle, including LEGO.
Notice the contrast of the 'live past' hair, slicked back, versus the current unkempt mane, and the stills from Captain America itself.
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ysabetwordsmith
Re: Yes...
Date: 2014-08-02 05:55 pm (UTC)0_o
Holy fuck I just realized something.
LOKI STRAIGHTENS HIS HAIR.
Okay, I noticed that in the first trailers for Thor 2 -- it's fluffy and wavy, not slicked down straight. I've always considered that the Odin-Thor-Loki dynamic was extremely close to the Big House triangle of slaveowner-legitimate son-mulatto bastard. It's clear early on that Loki is "passing" for Asgardian, but Odin knows the truth so never really treats Loki as Asgardian.
The parallel with the hair just hit me, because hair is political, especially for black people, all the more so for black women, and let's not forget how much feminine energy Loki carries. The fact that Loki straightens his hair has a lot of hidden weight.
Re: Yes...
Date: 2014-08-02 06:35 pm (UTC)Re: Yes...
Date: 2014-08-03 07:06 am (UTC)Poor Loki. Somebody needs to take that boy aside and talk to him about hair politics. Within Love Is For Children, Betty and Bucky have already discussed some similar issues, and there's Sam Wilson as a possibility too.
Re: Yes...
Date: 2014-08-03 07:58 am (UTC)I'm currently working on themes of repatriation and recovery via Bucky.
Re: Yes...
Date: 2014-08-03 10:19 pm (UTC)True. I think Natasha's hair is a perfect metaphor for what she is. Its natural state is irrelevant. It is whatever she needs it to be; whatever she needs to be. Like liquid takes the shape of its container.
>> I'm currently working on themes of repatriation and recovery via Bucky. <<
I really like that. I've done something different with it in Love Is For Children, but I'm enjoying what other people do.
Re: Yes...
Date: 2014-08-04 02:21 am (UTC)I've actually got a couple posts up at my dw on some of these issues, esp as relates to Pierce.
Re: Yes...
Date: 2014-08-04 07:17 am (UTC)Yes, that's true. The Winter Soldier was someone's idea of a perfect soldier: one who was incapable of saying no.
>> I've actually got a couple posts up at my dw on some of these issues, esp as relates to Pierce. <<
Cool.
Re: Yes...
Date: 2014-08-04 10:04 am (UTC)I was following orders.
Re: Yes...
Date: 2014-08-04 06:33 pm (UTC)Re: Yes...
Date: 2014-08-04 10:03 pm (UTC)Re: Yes...
Date: 2014-08-05 08:34 am (UTC)Re: Yes...
Date: 2014-08-04 10:29 pm (UTC)I think Pierce is using this as a rah-rah for the forces of Hydra. The Winter Soldier as he is in Captain America 2 is very akin to the over-inscribed masculinity that's been running over the toy aisle, including LEGO.
Notice the contrast of the 'live past' hair, slicked back, versus the current unkempt mane, and the stills from Captain America itself.