Snowflake Challenge #5

[komadori]

Challenge #5
In your own space, promote a canon/talk about a part of canon that you love. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post
if you feel comfortable doing so.

Okay, this one is hard. I love so many canons but which one to choose? I'd rather not preach to the choir and talk about something everyone has already heard of. I don't think I can stick to just one.

The first thing to come to mind was episode three of Good Omens. It shows the relationship of an angel and demon over the millennia--complete with a visit to Shakespeare's Globe, knights in shining armor, and the French Revolution among other things. It's delightful, and I love how it expands on what was hinted at in the book. I just adore historical settings and supernatural creatures who have been alive long enough to witness the world change over centuries or millennia.

I really need to rewatch the whole series again! This may be getting a bit personal, but I was raised in American Evangelicalism, which very much believes that the apocalypse is imminent. In fact, my family still subscribes to this line of thinking. While I no longer subscribe to this brand of Christianity. it has deep roots in my subconscious. Watching the series in particular helped me engage with that aspect of my upbringing in a healing way. Imagining a world where the antichrist could simply choose not to bring about the end of the world is comforting. Moreover, watching an ostensibly male (I know they are canonically genderless) demon and angel fall in love is cathartic. I love how both book and series embrace humanism and demonstrate the Miltonian idea of felix culpa in the best way. Who knows, maybe I am of the devil's party without knowing it, but I like to imagine that there are beings like Aziraphale and Crowley out there watching over us.

I'm sorry if that got a bit too serious, but again, it is cathartic.

On a less serious note, I highly recommend the musical SIX. The basic concept is that it's about Henry the 8th's six wives giving a pop concert to decide whose life was worse. I've been a Broadway fan for a while, and I can't say it's the best musical ever (I haven't even listened to Hadestown), but it's fun and so catchy. The cast recording is on Spotify if you are interested, and there's lots of live stage recordings on YouTube. I haven't gotten into the different casts like I did with Phantom of the Opera a decade ago, but rocking out to the studio cast recording has helped keep me sane this year. My favorite songs are "Don't Lose Your Head" and "All You Wanna Do." My favorite queen is Katherine Howard because I have so much sympathy for how she was used, abused, and manipulated throughout her short life. In the show, she is portrayed as a lost child who has been taken advantage of all her life and is desperate for someone to genuinely care about her.

I haven't seen the show live because... reasons. *gestures widely* They had to shut down Broadway on opening night because of the pandemic, and I feel so sorry for them. I would love to see the show if/when it opens up again, but I live in California so who knows whenever that will be. Like I said, I am a fan of historical settings, and the musical encouraged me to learn more about the Tudors. I love the general time of the renaissance/early modern England so it was fun for me. Before that, I somehow thought Jane Seymour was his last wife and didn't know anything about the three after her.

This is getting longer than I expected, but before I go, I would just like to squee over The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin. Why didn't I read her books sooner? The premise is that cities become alive at a certain point when they have developed their own unique culture. These cities have avatars in human form, and NYC's avatars (one for each borough and a primary) have just awakened, but of course, there's complications. The cast is diverse and vibrant, and it reads as a love letter to NYC and condemnation of gentrification and xenophobia. I am not a New Yorker at all, but it captured what has always fascinated me about the city. I also love how she incorporated Lovecraftian cosmic horror but turned it on its head to counter his racism and xenophobia.

Brief warning: it does feature a cataclysmic infection spreading across the city. If that is a bit too close to reality, you might want to skip it. It's the first book in as series, and I can't wait for the next installment to see what happens and meet the living incarnations of other cities. Until then, I hope to check out some of Jemisin's other works when I can.

Comments

[gillo]

I have loved Good Omens for decades and the show was almost perfect. Sheen and Tennant were utterly amazing. (I'm currently watching them in Staged S2, which is also brilliant.) I, too, love the idea that apocalypse does not have to happen, that free will can avert it, even in someone destined to be the Antichrist.

Thanks for choosing such a varied range for this part of the Challenge..

[mekare]

I loved the third Good Omens eoisode too. I am glad ti hear that it made you reconnect with a part of yourself! I love how fiction(books, tv etc) has done that for me in various ways over the years.

Thanks for the book rec! This is the second time this year I've seen it recced, so I should def check it out.

Also, I did NOT know about this musical. Sounds great!

[spikedluv]

That opening scene to that ep was so wonderful!

Watching the series in particular helped me engage with that aspect of my upbringing in a healing way.

I love that.