DISNEY+ dropped THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER last Friday. Bucky Barnes, traumatized by the events of AVENGERS: ENDGAME which saw the deaths of Black Widow and Iron man and, most importantly, Steve Rogers' decision to abandon Bucky and go back into the past to be with Sharon Carter, imagines a world where his pain disappears.
The first seven episodes revolve solely around Bucky and the new partnership he finds with Sam Wilson. As life partners, the two bond, a bond that is so much more important to Bucky than dating women -- like the woman he leaves quickly to go check out an older man. In this world he imagines, he and Sam carry out the relationship he always wanted with Steve Rogers. They set up house together and while Sam works on the family boat, Bucky stays home imagining himself as Laura Petrie, Carol Brady and, after acknowledging the well known theory of womb envy while giving birth to twins, Florida Evans. But even the twins and the time they absorb can't distract Bucky from the fact that Sam lacks Steve's hairy chest -- that light fur covering that Bucky had a fetish for -- or that Sam also lacks the dank, musky smell that Bucky found so irresistible in Steve. In episode eight, with reality intruding into Bucky's new world, he is forced to realize that he's created an artificial world using his left arm. He knew his artificial limb had an enhanced reaction time ability, he did not realize that the time ability action also included the ability to impose an artificial world. While his life with Sam and their two boys has moments of happiness and joy, he realizes Sam is not -- and never can be -- Steve. So, with a heavy heart, he ends his artificial world and, in the ninth and final episode, he begins using his heart and his abilities to fight evil and we finally get some action scenes.
Oh.
Wait.
That was WANDAVISION.
What THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER makes clear is that the deep and ingrained sexism of MARVEL live action remains and probably will do so for years to come. It also demonstrates that The Water Cooler is full of sexism and s**t as they repeatedly praised the sexist treatment of Scarlet Witch in WANDAVISION. She endured what Charlotte Gilman wrote about in the 1892 classic short story THE YELLOW WALLPAPER. But Wanda wasn't made aware of that, nor were the writers of the TV series. This wasn't a rejection, an indictment. What Charlotte Gilman rightly railed against in 1892 was embraced as a good story in 2021.
THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER starts by showing Sam in action mode as Falcon then we get Bucky demonstrating the use of his powers and abilities.
It's only when it's a woman that MARVEL ties the character's hands behind her back and forces her into a submissive role and a submissive life. It's only when it's a woman being forced into this role that professional critics, paid to do a job, go ga-ga over that nonsense and talk about it having multi-layers when it's just the same sexist crap men and women have been forcing off on female characters for decades.
Sexist stereotypes abound in this country, in this age. For example, last week saw many rush to defend a damsel in distress -- as they saw it. What are we talking about? Alexi McCammond. The fallen, the tragic? What other crap were we told about her? Oh, yes, the qualified.
Ryan Grim (Asswipe at THE INTERCEPT) Tweeted, "The staff of TEEN VOGUE successfully blocked an extremely well qualified Black woman from becoming its next editor in chief over tweets from when she was a teen that she apologized for years ago." They were homophobic Tweets, they were anti-Asian Tweets and these Tweets from when she was a teen bull? It was ten years ago.
We'll get back to the hatred of Asians in the United States, it's an important topic. But let's go back to idiot Ryan's notion that Alexi was somehow qualified to be an editor -- or as he put it, "extremely well qualified." In what world, Ryan, in what world?
She wasn't a strong reporter and she had ethical problems -- not ten years ago, just months ago. She worked for AXIOS and her beat was the Biden campaign -- while she was screwing the Biden campaign's TJ Ducklo. And before that had happened? She had a years-long friendship with him. Those are conflicts of interests that were never disclosed to readers. She eventually disclosed the relationship to her editors.
This isn't journalism, not journalism done well. The notion that someone this unethical could, mere weeks later, rise to the position of editor? No. She wasn't qualified even if you remove her recent lack of ethics from the equation. But as an editor, you can't remove that scandal. If she can't police her own behavior how the hell is she going to act as an editor for anyone else?
Answer: She can't.
Ryan Grim's an idiot, he will always be an idiot. He will never be a journalist. He doesn't understand journalism which is why he works for THE INTERCEPT to begin with.
Sexism abounds. So does racism and that includes racism against Asians.
NETFLIX rescued the hideous DESIGNATED SURVIVOR and allowed them to kill off Maggie Q's character. She was the only Asian American female on the show and she held the distinction of being the only Asian American female in a lead role on a US-made NETFLIX show. But it mattered so little to NETFLIX. This despite the fact that NIKITA, the show she first starred in, remains one of NETFLIX's most streamed series. And yet paid journalists didn't even notice -- or pretended not to.
The same way paid journalist have told the same nonsense over an over where a White woman -- once a blond -- is a tragic figure who was supposedly molested by Woody Allen -- despite the fact that she's repeatedly changed her story over the years, despite the fact that she repeatedly changed it from the start -- which was noted in the two investigations that two different bodies conducted and found no evidence that Woody Allen had molested Dylan Bailey Malone Allen Farrow -- whatever her name is at any given moment.
The same way this crap load of paid journalists played the 'harmed White girl' card yet again -- they were all over the missing blond girls in the 90s and early 00s. They did -- and still do -- this over and while sporting their racism proudly. Because to portray vengeful Mia Farrow as innocent and pure and truthful, the press has to silence two Asian-Americans: Soon-Yi Previn and Moses Farrow.
Both have talked about the abuse they suffered from their adoptive mother Mia Farrow. In fact, Mia's physical abuse of Soon-Yi is part of the court record.
But the press ignores it. HBO ignores it as well. They rush to do a smear job on Woody Allen and, yes, on Soon-Yi because they think they can get away with it. As we noted last month in response to that hideous 'documentary' series:
Mia Farrow and her daughter Dylan, hungry publicity whores, are back. With a bad documentary entitled ALLEN V. FARROW. Back again. And the first question to ask is the most important one: Why?
Because Dylan's a White girl.
Because Dylan's a White girl we get a four-part mini-series about what she claims happened back in 1992. What she claims.
It's the '00s all over again with the media ignoring the disappearances of African-American girls to instead have the entire nation fretting over the missing White girl. It's so ingrained into the culture, this discrimination, that both FAMILY GUY and AMERICAN DAD have episodes riffing on it.
And now comes HBO. Help us out, how many documentaries did HBO do on Aiyana Jones? Police shot and killed her during a raid. She was seven-years-old. She also wasn't White. So HBO doesn't give two s**ts. Where's the HBO documentary on Breonna Taylor? That young woman was 26-years-old when police killed her. Where's the HBO documentary on that? Oh, wait, Breonna Taylor is African-American.
HBO and Dylan and Mia only care about White girls.
Do you doubt it?
If it's time to make a documentary about Mia Farrow's family, it's time to make a documentary about Soon-Yi. And that includes how Mia beat her and abused her. Even Mia admits to some of the abuse. Wah-wah, she beat her because she was jealous Mia used to 'explain' and the press would just write it up as if that's normal.
Especially coming from a grown woman notorious for throwing herself at every man she could and being enraged when so many rejected her. She still turns crimson when anyone has the nerve to laugh at her failed attempt to steal Mike Nichols from Diane Sawyer in the 90s.
America knows that Mia beat her daughter Soon-Yi, it's even noted, Mia beating Soon-Yi, in the New York State Supreme Court verdict written by the judge. If only Soon-Yi were White, the American media might give a damn, right?
The mainstream media's done damn little to help Asian Americans.
They're rarely cast in lead roles in film or television. If they're women, they're more likely to be completely ignored unless they can be portrayed as the dragon lady. Yes, there is the other stereotypical role "China doll." But we rarely see that. We're more likely to see the portrayal of the dragon lady. It is the most infamous role in US narratives. Yoko Ono had to live down that stereotype for years. She was evil, she was manipulative, It was easier to accept that and blame her for the break up of the Beatles than to be honest that four egos among a group where everyone wants to be a star and has the ability to be is going to destroy any group. After years with John, Yoko overcame the negative and racist stereotype in the minds of many. But the stereotype still gets applied to other Asian women.
That is why, for example, HBO didn't do a documentary about Soon-Yi, a young woman who fell in love with a man and escaped an abusive mother in the process. Instead, they went back to the cesspool of the 90s to again portray the pure blond Mia as pure and wonderful.
At what point does reality ever come to bear on the whole Dylan Farrow story?
Even if you believe the claims put forward, we do not, you still don't have a wonderful Mia. As Mia Farrow tells the story, Dylan was never to be left alone with Woody. As we have pointed out for years now, then why the hell did Mia elect to take a shopping trip on the rare day that Woody visited?
There's no honesty in the Mia-Dylan Chronicles, it's just one lie after another.
HBO let two questionable types make a 'documentary' about a decades old story that was covered extensively in real time and they had nothing new to offer. Well, more lies. Loved Fletcher's then-girlfriend, now wife, showing up with her lies. She wasn't even present the day of the alleged incident but there she is vouching for it and claiming everyone knew and everyone knew before it happened and . . .
When does logic ever kick in with this garbage?
If everyone knew, how would it have happened? Even with Mia gone and multiple babysitters (two of Mia's and another working for her gruesome friend), with all the children present, how would it have happened?
Did you know Woody Allen was that capable and that stealth? He would have had to be a mastermind. We'll allow that he's a creative genius but we don't think that he's a genius outside of movies.
There is no logic and there's no story there to tell, the unfounded allegations were covered by the media in real time and were investigated twice. No charges were brought against him.
But our prejudice against Asian Americans allows us to again pretend that a mother who beat her children -- as Soon-Yi and Moses can personally attest -- is a mother to celebrate. The first episode of ALLEN V FARROW focused on what? Woody and Soon-Yi. It was telling that they started with that in an attempt to prejudice viewers and of course Soon-Yi has to be the dragon lady in that sort of a fairy tale.
Six Asian Americans were shot dead last week in Atlanta (two non-Asians were also killed). Was it because they were Asian Americans? Many believe that and they may be right. Some argue they were shot because they were perceived as sex workers and that could be true as well. It could also be that they were shot for both reasons. And though we've seen some reflection in the media -- it's been reflection that they cover from others. It hasn't been self-reflection and it certainly hasn't been introspection.
Life isn't fair.
We don't claim that it is. It isn't fair for women as a group or for ethnic or racial or religious minorities. It isn't even fair for straight-White males -- not for all of them.
We were reminded of that due to Eddie Cibrian.
The dimples alone should make him a star. And while he has a following, it's not nearly large enough. If he'd been cast in THE UNICORN, the show would have made sense. His latest casting is in COUNTRY COMFORT, a new sitcom on NETFLIX.
It's not a Norman Lear sitcom, it's not a buzzword sitcom. It's not supposed to be. It's a family sitcom and it's good in that genre. It's a funny show.
It's giving Katharine McPhee a job and that's a really good thing. We choose our words carefully right now because a piece we wrote many years ago did help break up a marriage per the wife in that marriage. And the husband in that marriage is now married to Katharine.
She has married and had a child with a hideous man -- we know David Foster, we know him too well. She needs a career to fall back on. Fortunately, she's a very good actress and hopefully COUNTRY COMFORT will be well received by viewers -- we're sure that The Water Cooler Set will attack it.
David is so crazed and crazy that our personal hope, for over a decade and a half now, has been that he'd end up with the wife of his frequent writing partner because the two truly deserve each other. Her constant harping about the chemicals in the environment and her pretend illnesses really grate because she's referring to Lysol being sprayed. We're not joking. It's why she and her husband are no longer invited anywhere in the music industry. Even a dining hall can't have been cleaned recently (four to seven days) or she won't show. She's a hypochondriac and, let's be frank, a bitch. So is David. The two deserve each other. Maybe the love of a good woman can change him but, sorry Katharine, we don't think that's going to happen.
We hope COUNTRY COMFORT happens. She deserves a hit show and so does Eddie. But life doesn't always deliver fairness. Racism and sexism and all the other ills of humanity wouldn't have to be combated if life was built around fairness. But they do have to be combated and it's a fight we all have to take part in. It's what these pieces here have been about each week,
