To start this weekend post, I had to share music I have been listening to for a good part of the day, while working on the introduction of my contracted book Women in Science Fiction Television: Transcendence (Orchestral) by Lindsey Stirling. I love Stirling’s music and this new version of a beloved title was another great one. I also like what she explains at the end of the people she collaborated with at the end of the video. It is always nice to see people support worthy causes and projects.
On the writing front, I have started the introduction for my upcoming book, as mentioned right above. I am very happy with the Leia (Star Wars) and Ivanova (Babylon 5) quotes I have picked to open it. I believe it sets the tone and idea for the whole volume. I am so happy that I now have written 95% of this book. I started it in October last year. Knowing I will be done with it this month is wonderful. Once all is polished after going through my usual amazing proofreader, I will first work on the screen capping for the illustrations (a little over twenty, plus a personal graphic about Science Fiction hybrid nature). Then it will be formatting time. I am grateful I have specific and clear guidelines about how I shall set things. I am planning to send everything to the collection’s director at the publisher before the end of April.
I have been thinking about ways of improving the website content in the near future. I have been more actively networking and interacting both on WordPress and Twitter and am glad that I was thus introduced to quite a few very interesting people. I am looking forward to continue to get to know them as well as future new persons.
I have an upcoming blog series for this Spring if all goes well. I have regular content between my writing and also some media reviews: TV, movies, book and sometimes video games. Making sure to have some link roundups of interest is something else I am trying to do on a regular basis.
I’m not sure of what else I could do. I considered the possibility of inviting some other bloggers for guest posts but I am not exactly sure how it works or how I would go about it. I feel a bit shy about this, just like I have always found podcasting fascinating but very daunting. I know it might be ironic because I have extensive video editing experience, but this seems something completely different. I guess that I also consider podcasting something that needs a team behind, so unsure of what little sense me working on something like that would do.
Anyway, I am open to suggestions and input if any of you has any, as a lot of you have very interesting blogs! I am not set on anything particular besides the usual type of posting I am doing, minus that future blog series, so the thinking process is full blown these days, as I find that WordPress and actual blogging give me more room to bring worthy content than how my old website did.
This week, I was able to finally watch Frozen. I was blown away. I admit that past the first sequences between the sisters as little girls, I had about 10-20 minutes when I wasn’t so sure about whether I’d like the movie. From the moment Elsa freezes things again and runs away, soon followed by Anna going after her, I was won over. I had already listened to “Let It Go” way too many times (wait, is there such a thing?!) before even watching the movie and had been curious about it. I didn’t have that many expectations, though I had read some interesting pieces about it (which also made me aware of the other clever idea of the film of having gay characters featured!). I loved it. It is really smart that Elsa wasn’t made the villain as I read it was the original idea. The fact that the sisters are able to rescue each other and their people is brilliant and empowering. I laughed at some of the banter between Kristoff, Sven, Olaf and Anna. It had brilliant moments.
Elsa and Anna were compelling characters and seeing them able to fix things on their own, without belittling others’s support (such as Kristoff’s and Olaf’s) was very positive. To me, that was well thought feminism and egalitarian thinking. Elsa and Anna are both layered, they make mistakes, they learn from them, they are strong and yet have weaknesses. Neither of them needs a man to get things done, but it doesn’t mean they spit on them when they are positive figures, such as Kristoff. Elsa doesn’t need a king to be a queen. Anna learns that rushing into things can be trouble, as with the so called prince. Yet, Anna and Kristoff actually start a relationship at the end, without rushing into marriage right away (which was a good thing to see them both willing to take their time). Elsa and Anna make their own choices and deal with them, in the bad and the good.
And just because I can, sharing the Let It Go sequence from the movie, because this is still such a strong song and also sequence. It gives me so many goosebumps!
Links: Video Games, Writing, Feminism
Natacha Guyot 