Links I Love 3

I am leaving on vacation in a couple of days, so I will probably not be able to put up any posts during the next weeks. In the meantime I leave you with some interesting, inspiring and eye opening things I've read and watched online recently. (If you want to check out my previous Links I Love posts you can find them here and here.)

The Cunning "American Bitch" Episode of "Girls" by Emily Nussbaum, The New Yorker

This week I rediscovered "Girls". I have watched it before but then somehow forgot about it, so I picked it up again in the last days. At first it was tough getting back into the show because man, the characters are all flawed on so so many levels to the point where I don't want to be friends with any of them. But I do appreciate just this about the show. It's real and it's ugly because this is what life is about. Also the sex scenes are on point.

Last night I finally watched the "American Bitch" episode which I already knew was talked about a lot. And it deserves all the attention it gets. The episode shows Hannah who has written a rant about an author who may or may not have nonconsensual sexual encounters with fans. The author then invites her to his apartment to convince her of what a decent guy he is before basically proving the exact oposite in the last 10 minutes of the episode.

And I can tell you, it was upsetting. It was upsetting because you don't know what is true. On one hand you want to defend the girls which came forward with accusations but on the other hand he is really convincing. I even found myself taking his side throughout the first half of the episode which made it that much more disturbing. This is an important episode in the light of several celebrities being accused of something similar at the moment.

Emily Nussbaum gives a detailed and correct analysis of the episode. I like how she points out that the Hannah we see in it is very out of character which she explains with pointing out that here we don't meet Hannah, the character, but the actual Lena Dunham, creator of "Girls". Go and watch this episode (it has nothing to do with the rest of the show, so don't mind about that) and then read Nussbaum's review.

The Importance of Having Hobbies You're Bad At by Molly Longest, The Lala

This was a fun article which truly resonated with me. Basically Longest's message is that we should have hobbies we're bad at because it is refreshing to do something where we're not striving for perfection, not looking to become great at, but rather do it just for fun.

And this is so true! I have been dancing since I was 6 years old and to be honest, I was never very good at it. I don't suck, but I'm not great at it either. I always thought that this is the one thing I will never succeed at: be a professional dancer. Which is 100% true. But you know what? That doesn't mean that I don't enjoy doing it.

Why Happily Ever After Isn't Cool Anymore by Danielle Friedman, The Cut

If you watched any of the recent "love movies" like Damien Chazelle's "Lalaland" or Woody Allen's "Café Society" you might have noticed a trend in todays movies that the main couple doesn't end up with each other. Which seems to go against everything we know about love movies and also upsets some disappointed viewers.

But I think that those movies are doing it right. Like Friedman argues they are just mirroring a trend in today's dating society. With being flexible for your career and taking care of your personal needs it seems like Happily Ever Afters become more and more rare and also it seems like they are noone's priority anymore. Don't get me wrong. I do believe in love and I believe that if it's right it will last. But I also think that you have to make sacrifices for it to work and that not everyone is willing to do this. You can't have it all. Pick your battle.

27 Songs From 2007 You Definitely Had on Your Ipod by Tahlia Pritchard, Buzzfeed

This post made my night. Seriously I went into a deep nostalgia mode when I went through these songs because many of these were and sometimes still are my favorites. Nevertheless I had never seen some of the music videos, so this was fun!

Draco Malfoy And The Fight Against Racism by Monique Jones, Tor

So every Harry Potter fan knows that Malfoy is not evil. He turned out (especially in the 7th book as well as in Cursed Child) to be a decent guy who just didn't have the balls to stand up against his family. Also everyone knows that the Deatheaters who only tolerate pure-blood wizards and want to wipe out all half-bloods and muggle-borns are J. K. Rowlings version of racism. Monique Jones brings these two aspects masterfully together.

She argues that we can learn a lot about racism by analysing the character Draco Malfoy. He grew up with people constantly telling him that he is better because he is born into a wizard family. Every member of his family (well except Sirius Black obviously) was a racist. So he became one, too. I'm always amazed by how much Rowling put into her books. If you are a Harry Potter fan or interested in racism, this article is a must read.

Madonnas Full Acceptance Speech At Billboard Women In Music 2016

I'm no big Madonna fan but this speech brought me to tears. She talks about how she was always judged for her choice to express her feminity, to dress sexy even now that she is older. She was labeled not a real feminist because she chose to express her sexuality. But she makes a clear point that your clothing doesn't decide over wether you're a feminist or not. What decides about this are the causes you stand up for.

All I could think while watching her speech was: If a woman like Madonna has to take all this shit, what the hell are we regular ladies gonna do?

La La Land (2016 Movie) - City of Stars

I already mentioned that I fell deeply in love with this movie and its feeling and message. I have shared the "Audition" song before but "City of Stars" was also fantastic. It didn't win the Oscar for best song for nothing. I listed to it pretty much daily during the last weeks.

The Story Behind Che's Iconic Photo by Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo, Smithsonian

We tend to think that great photos are planned to the last detail and distributed carefully and for many pictures this is probably true but for others - like this iconic photo of Che Guevara - the story is a lot more chaotic. This is an interesting read not only for people interested in photography but also for those loving a good success story which had to surpass several challenges and detours on its journey.

Why We Write About Witches by Sarah Gailey, Tor

To be honest I only signed up for the Tor newsletter to get a free ebook but I'm so glad I did. I get news and insight analysis about fantasy and sci fi on a regular basis. This article analysed the different kinds of witches we can find in fantasy stories and it is so on point! It also makes a case for a new potrayal of the witch which has a lot more to do with the women movement than fantasy literature.

All Your Characters Talk The Same - And They're Not A Hivemind! by Chalie Jane Anders, io9

I have to admit that this is a huge problem for me. I tend to let all my characters talk the same which isn't only pretty unrealistic but also kind of boring. But I have been trying to get better and this article by the wonderful io9 writer Charlie Jane Anders helped me. It has a deep anaysis which will make you feel guilty more than once but also some helpful tips.