Flash 'Gorilla Warfare' Review

After last weeks impressive Zoom centric episode it was going to be hard to compete, luckily The Flash had something up it's sleeve, everyone's favourite psychic Gorilla, Grodd.

Just like in the first season Grodd is very impressive, with so much phenomenal effects work going into giving the villain life.  That work doesn't just extend to making Grodd realistic though, this time round he's able to show a broad range of expression and emotion through both is face and body movement.  The result is a fully CG bad guy that actually has more depth and range of emotion that some of the other villains on the show.

Last years 'Grodd Lives' was nominated for an Emmy due to it's impressive visual effects work, and I certainly wouldn't be surprised if this episode is received the same way.

Despite Grodd's return to the Flash universe being a big deal it still feels like the character is still in the process of being set up to be the villain we know and love from the comics.  This episode was used as a healing process for Barry, for him to get over the beating he received from Zoom and build his nerve into getting back into the suit.

Whilst there's nothing wrong with showing our hero emotionally and psychologically shaken after his showdown with Zoom (and who could blame him for that) it feels like an under use of Grodd's potential.  At least the episode started Grodd down the path to bigger and greater things, transporting him to Earth-2 to Gorilla City.  I'm hoping that he'll be back for season three more as the Grodd we've read in the comics, and introducing Solivar would be cool too.

Elsewhere the episode was spent showing us the recovery of Barry Allen, who after receiving massive spinal trauma last episode began this one already walking.  I know it's one of the benefits of Flash's powers that he heals exceptionally quickly, but the show runners could have at least had him recovering for more than half an episode.

His incapacitation though was a good way of bringing John Wesley Shipp's Henry back to the show after several weeks away.  Whilst it's a shame he isn't around more, the brief times we are given him he's always a pleasure to watch, not just for his great acting but for the joy of seeing both Flash's on screen together.

We were also given a small tease for next weeks Arrow/Flash crossover when Cisco went on a date with Kendra Saunders.  Using his 'vibe' he was able to see a flash of Hawkgirl.  Yes, we might only have to wait a week to finally get to see her fully, but this brief tease was a great way of building excitement as the CW have been very sparse on showing her in action so far.

The stand out for the episode has to go to Tom Cavanagh for the way he played Harrison 'Harry' Wells.  After a couple of weeks of being something of a grumpy arse hole it finally feels like Harry has started to find a place in the team, he's realising that they are his best way of getting his daughter back and he's slowly starting to warm to them, so much so that he put himself in danger to save Caitlyn after Grodd kidnapping her.

It was these scenes that really show how good Cavanagh is in the role.  Even when wearing the Reverse Flash suit it was very clear that Harry Wells is not the Harrison Wells (well, Eobard Thawn really) that we knew from season one.  Yes, sometimes he might seem creepy and cold, but he's really playing it differently now.

'Gorilla Warfare' was a good follow-up episode to last weeks, plus a great way of carrying on Grodd's story.  Add into that the fact that we got to see Gorilla City on TV, which is something I never thought I'd see.  With the mention of Atlantis a few weeks ago and the cameo of King Shark maybe Earth-2 is the shows way of experimenting with the wackier side of DC's back catalogue, and I hope we get even more amazing things in the future.

Amy.

xx

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Lily Allen Celebrates Trans Awareness Week, Receives Transphobic Responses

British singer Lily Allen, sister of Game of Thones' Alfie Allen, posted a meme on Facebook to celebrate Transgender Awareness Week and show support to the transgender community.  The meme was very simple and clear, it said that gender is decided by the brain, not by genitals.

Whilst this is a very simple fact that members of the trans community know and understand, and many members of the cis community are coming to realise, the singer was met with a torrent of abuse for her meme, with many of the top comments being transphobic in nature.

Comments range from people claiming scientific knowledge on the subject, though it is obvious that this knowledge is based solely on primary school learning and no real in depth knowledge, to people making the oh so funny comments that they wish to identify as animals now.

On a positive not, there was a lot of positive support for Lily Allens post, with a number of trans people weighing in to thank the singer and show their appreciation.  Sadly, despite trying to educate those people that disagree with basic fact, it seems like they're simply talking to a wall.  The people making these negative comments aren't going to have their minds changed by the trans community.

Sadly this is an indicator that despite how far the trans community has come, there is still a so much more that needs to happen before the trans community becomes fully accepted.

Amy.

xx

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Neon Moon - Promotes Trans Rights, Fails To Demonstrate

A few weeks ago I produced an article on the feminist lingerie brand Neon Moon, discussing their use of a transgender model in their latest campaign.  To prepare for that article I interviewed both the model, and the CEO of Neon Moon Hayat Rachi.

Following that article Neon Moon has acted rudely and cold towards myself and Planet Transgender, where the article was published, and even reprinted much of my work on their own website claiming it to be their own work.

The article did not mention that the interview was conducted by myself, or were conducted for Planet Transgender.  The article made the claim that it was a piece of their own making, and that they were the ones who performed the interview.

This was done without the knowledge or consent of either Planet Transgender or myself.  We were not approached to ask if Neon Moon could reproduce our work, and we were certainly not asked if they could tell people that it was their work.

The link to the now deleted article, clearly stating 'We ask', rather than
citing the original article.

The only main difference between the interview I conducted with Hayat, and the article she had produced, was that they added a question and answer about her appearing in her company's photographs as a model, and removing a question I asked her about how she would react to accusations that Neon Moon were just using a trans model to gain media attention.

I believe that it was this question, and the subsequent reporting of it in my original article that begun Hayat's cold behaviour.

I asked that question of her to give her a chance to counter any criticism of her and her company before it arose.  I made it clear to her that I myself was not accusing her of 'taking advantage' of the focus on trans people, but giving her an easy way of showing that she wasn't before the accusations began.  We live in an age where even good deeds can be seen as suspect, of having an ulterior motive.  I wanted to give Neon Moon the platform to say 'that's not us'.

Hayat refuses to respond to a question, a question I believe to be the source of
her poor behaviour towards myself and Planet Transgender.

The reason I believe this question became a source of contention for Hayat was that her response was 'I'm not comfortable with this question'.  She went on to say that 'no one would accuse Neon Moon of this', and asked me why I would ask that question of her.  After explaining that I was not trying to cause offence, but on Neon Moon's side her response was 'could you word it?  They'd trust you more than me'.  She had once again refused to answer the question, and that fact was reported in my article.
With this question removed from the interview I conducted with her and a question of her own put into it's place I guess she felt that it was an original enough work to claim it as her own.  The article was posted to Neon Moon's Facebook page and Twitter feed, where I left a comment to say where the article was originally publish and who the actual author was.

At this point I was upset that Hayat had taken my work and was trying to pass it off as her own.  I took to Twitter and vented my frustration that someone had taken my work and was claiming it as theirs.  I did not, at any point, however, mention Hayat Rachi or Neon Moon in this, giving them the benefit of the doubt of contacting them before going on to name them.

Later that night, when I was then able to try and message Hayat I found that the article they had produced had been removed from their website.  I went to contact Hayat to talk about what had happened only to discover that I had been blocked by Hayat on Facebook, and blocked from the Neon Moon Twitter page.

I emailed Hayat to talk to her about why she had felt the need to block me, and messaged her on Facebook through the Neon Moon company page.  The email has thus far been unresponded to, and the several messages that I have sent through Facebook have been viewed, but ignored.

Hayat Rachi blocked me from both Facebook and Twitter, ignoring my communications.

I worked with Hayat on three articles, two of which were way before she announced involving a trans model with the company.  I believed in Neon Moons message of body positivity, I thought that they had a good and healthy approach and were a company that conducted itself well.  I even believed that they wanted to help tackle transphobia and help trans women.

What I find hard to understand is why a company that preached equality, and spreads a message of positivity towards trans people would firstly steal work from a trans person, then block and ignore that person when they try to speak to them about it.  I find it hard to understand why Neon Moon go out of the way to share and promote the articles people produce on them, yet have not once shared or mentioned the last article produced by a transgender publication.  They are sending one message, and then acting completely opposite to that message.

This is not designed to be an attack piece, instead I'm hoping that the publication of this prompts Hayat to open communications again so that this matter can be resolved.  However, I doubt that she will do so.  So instead this is designed as a warning, that some companies, and I believe Neon Moon in particular, preach a good message when it comes to trans people, but act completely contrary to that message.

UPDATE

Less than 24 hours after posting this article another trans woman read this and chose to try and ask Neon Moon about this rather than believing it as fact from only hearing one side of the argument, a very well reasoned choice.

This other person was wanting to give Neon Moon the chance to explain what had happened, to give them a chance to apologise, or to even say that their had been a misunderstanding.  Instead, Neon Moon deleted this woman's comment and blocked her.

That makes two trans women blocked in a two day period.  Questionable action from a company that is pushing for trans equality and sending a pro-trans message.

Amy.

xx

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Arrow 'Lost Souls' Review

Last week we learnt that Ray Palmer, the superhero known as The Atom, was not in fact killed in an explosion at the end of season three as believed (despite the fact that we were told that he was alive months ago with the reveal trailer for Legends of Tomorrow).

That's what a lot of this episode was about, building towards the new Arrow spin-off 'Legends of Tomorrow', as not only was The Atom re-introduced to the franchise but so was Sarah Lance's Black Canary, who we know will go on to become White Canary.

Whilst the episode did carry on with a number of the stories already established in the show already, the up and down relationship between Ollie and Felicity, the evil machinations of Damian Dahrk, but all in all it felt like a very throwaway episode where nothing much actually happened.

All the main changes involved Ray and Sarah, who were both very quickly sidelined by the end of the episode.

The one positive in the episode is that even though it was heavily focused on setting up for the future spin-off Damian Dahrk was heavily involved.  Whilst it was good to see a rematch between Green Arrow and his supernaturally powered opponent, compared to Flash's fight with Zoom it felt a little underwhelming.

Hopefully the show will bet a little back on track next week and get back to the main story of the season.

Amy.

xx

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Patch Reynold - Remembering An Amazing Person

I've tried several different starts to this post, been trying to get it right. But I realise that I can't. So instead I'm just going to write, and hope that whatever I end up with isn't complete nonsense, because I don't know how to do this.

I've reported on death's before, I even did it earlier today, but I've never written about a friend dying. I don't know how to make sense of the emotions I'm feeling as I'm writing and make any kind of coherent statement about such an amazing person.

That's what Patch was, an amazing person. I'm sure that anyone who is reading this who knew her will agree with that in a second, and for those of you who never knew her, I'm sorry that you missed that opportunity.

I first met Patch years ago, back when she was in her teens. A friend of mine owned a comic book shop, and as per the rules when one of your friends owns a comic book shop I was always hanging out there.  

That's where I met Patch. She must have been fourteen or fifteen at the time, and would come in after school and at the weekends and hang out. She was always excited to be in the shop, to get to hang out with other geeks and have a place where it was cool to be different and into 'silly' things. It was always great to see her and her friends be so passionate about their interests.

I lost contact with Patch for a while after that, but thanks to modern technology was soon in contact with her again. We'd talk for hours and hours over the web about so many different topics, from TV, to politics, to the deeply personal.

Patch talked in depth with me about her questions about her gender, and shared some things with me that made me feel deeply honoured for that trust. She asked me about writing, and spoke so passionately about her wanting to write on politics.  

She talked to me about some of the trouble she had had through the Internet, from people sending her hate and the effect that it had had on her.  She spoke to me about her mental and physical health.  She spoke to me about so much, and with such honesty that it was hard to feel like I didn't know her well.

That was part of what made Patch special to me, she was never afraid to talk about subjects that would make other people scared to share. She understood that their were social stigmas around subjects like gender, sexuality, mental health, and she knew that those stigmas were complete bullshit.  

Patch understood that there were so many problems with the world, that she and others were going through a whole range of different issues that weren't being talked about, and she went out of her way to make sure that it was okay to talk about those things.

She displayed a wisdom and caring that was almost unheard of in someone of her age. In a lot of ways she was the kind of person I wished I could be, which I never told her and wished I did.  She joked with me that I was a 'big sister' to her, and told me how much she admired me, but the truth is Patch, I think I looked up to you more.

You were off at Uni, doing things you loved, getting involved with groups and charities, you took part in workshops for important subjects, you were taking the world by storm and trying to make a positive impact. You were amazing.

I hate that for so long we only talked online, and I wish we could have seen each other in person more. I hate that through writing this whole thing I'm having to write about you in the past tense. I'm going to miss our conversations, and seeing your amazing posts and tweets come up in my news feed.  

You were a truly amazing person, wise beyond your years, passionate and caring. The world has lost one of it's best and brightest.

I miss you 'little sister'.

Amy.

xx

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Transgender Man Found Murdered & Mutilated

Yoshi Tsuchida, 32, was found dead in his Tokyo home yesterday by his adopted son, with his head covered in a plastic bag and his face removed.

Mr Tsuchida's 28-year-old son, who has not been named, returned to their shared home on thursday morning.  He went to bed, but awoke later to find his father dead, according to a local police spokesperson.

'When I woke up my father was bleeding from the face' Jiji Press reported him saying, citing police reports.  It is not uncommon in Japan for adults to be adopted, hence the small age gap between Mr Tsuchida and his son.

Reports cite a history of violence between the two of them, and that police officers had visited the home on multiple occasions responding to reports of loud voices and people fighting.

It's also being reported that Mr Tsuchida's son is also transgender and receiving female hormone treatment, but still identifies as male at this time.

It has not yet been established if this is to be considered a hate crime, or if it unrelated to Yoshi Tsuchida's transgender status.

Amy.
xx


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Supernatural 'Our Little World' Review

After a slow monster of the week episode last week it's time to dip back into the main story for season 11, The Darkness.  This week we're not only treated to yet an older, and much better acted, version of The Darkness, but also receive some serious information on who she is and where the season might be heading.

After finally 'coming off the bench' Castiel is back in the field and tracking down Metatron, who has taken some tips from Jake Gyllenhaal in 'Nightcrawler' and has become a headline hunting sleazy reporter.  This feels like a very natural progression for the character, he's obsessed with stories and he's a dirtbag, so I can very easily believe that he's that kind of despicable human.  It's even kind of pathetic that someone who was such a powerful threat just a few seasons ago has fallen so far.

It's Metatron that gives one of the biggest revelations this episode, The Darkness isn't just some kind of pre-biblical 'evil' entity that God defeated.  She's his sister, who he betrayed in order to bring creation into being.  This not only ups the ante, giving us a villain more powerful than every big bad the show has had put together, but also raised some interesting questions, such as, is The Darkness evil?

Okay, she's feeding on souls to gain strength and that's definitely bad, but she wasn't some rampaging monster before God got rid of her (as far as we now know), but someone he 'betrayed'.  It's very possible that she was just as kind and benevolent as God before he turned on her.

Whatever her past, I'm sure she's not going to end up as some kind of misunderstood hero, she's definitely the villain, but it at least gives us something more than just a black and white, good and evil dichotomy, but some more depth.

Elsewhere in the episode Sam and Dean finally come face to face with Amara, and it doesn't go well.  Breaking free of Crowley's 'protection' Amara's now out on her own, and it would appear that she definitely holds some kind of sway over Dean.  Given multiple chances to try and attack her Dean was left unable to bring himself to do so, at least until Amara put Sam in danger.
How this will play out is anyone's guess, whether it just means that Dean won't be the one to take Amara down, or if he'll end up going over to her side isn't clear yet.  Though with Sam apparently receiving visions from God it could be possible that the Winchester brothers may end up on opposite sides, the way they were destined to in season 5 when Lucifer was free.

Speaking of Lucifer, it would appear from Sam's latest vision from God that he and/or Michael may be making a return as Sam is shown visions of the Cage, where the two of them are being held.  Is God telling Sam that they need the power of the Archangels on their side to fight back The Darkness?  Are we going to see some kind of epic Heaven and Hell team up with Lucifer and Michael leading the fight against the Darkness?  Is God going to make an appearance?  Is Chuck God?

We don't know yet, but some things are looking clearer and clearer.  The Winchesters and co. are up against a foe stronger than any that has ever come before it, and it looks like they're going to have to make some crazy choices if they're going to take The Darkness down.

Amy.
xx


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Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D. 'Chaos Theory' Review

After last week's revelation as to the identity of the Inhuman killing machine Lash being the much loved Andrew Garner, all round good guy, psychologist and love interest of resident bad arse Melinda May it's all hands on deck as the team come face to face with that revelation and the monster they've been hunting.

After learning about May's back story last season, of having to kill an Inhuman child in Bahrain, and seeing the effect that had on her it's almost gut wrenching to know that she could be facing a similar situation now,but with her ex-husband instead.  Perhaps it was that baggage that drove May to confront Andrew on her own, but whatever her reasons it was an unusually stupid choice from a normally level headed character, but one driven by how much she has grown emotionally since her introduction.

The fact that Andrew is Lash wasn't kept secret from the rest of the characters as they came to the same revelation was a good one.  Rather than keep it as knowledge the audience held over the characters as they frustratingly circled other leads they immediately confronted, and apparently neutralised, the threat.

The scenes in which S.H.I.E,L.D., along with the assistance of Lincoln and the A.T.C.U., were brilliantly executed, tense and action packed.  The show also used those moments of action to expand upon Daisy's powers, with her using her seismic abilities to save a falling Rosalind, showing the versatility of Daisy's powers, as well as hopefully showing Rosalind that not every Inhuman is a threat.

Whilst Lash may have been neutralised in the episode, it's worth bearing in mind that this is only episode 7, and that it's more than likely he'll be back before the season is through.  My only hope is that if he is, it's not May who will have to kill him.  With the information that Lash will eventually become Andrews dominant personality it's very likely that death will be the only way to stop him, and that May will be the one to do so, for dramatic effect.  Now, while this might make good TV, I really don't want to have to see one of my favourite SHIELD characters go through that.

This week we also learnt that despite her relationship on an alien planet Simmons genuinely does love Fittz after he was able to recover the information on her phone.  Despite Fitzz initial anger at seeing the photo of Simmons and Will, it was seeing the emotion and heartbreak on his face when he watched her final message to him that shone through.  Yes, he has her back, but he still felt the emotions of watching what was essentially her goodbye to him.  It's these little moments from Ian De Caestecker that have made season three some of the best in the show.

The episode ends with a rather intriguing revelation that Rosalind is working for Gideon, the mysterious 'Foreigner' that has been working with Hydra since the very beginning.  I'm hoping that things will play out where Rosalind is unaware of who Gideon really is, rather than turning out to be a villain as I'm really enjoying her and Coulson on screen together, but then the idea of Hydra getting it's hands on a super powered army of Inhumans is a pretty exciting prospect too.

'Chaos Theory' kept the pace and excitement rolling whilst managing to give us some touching and emotional scenes as well as setting up even higher stakes for the rest of the season.  A great episode that goes a long way to show why Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is one of the best shows on TV right now.

Amy.
xx


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The Sun Newspaper Under Fire For 'Insidious' HIV Article

The British newspaper The Sun has come under fire today following what is being described as an 'irresponsible' and 'insidious' article that speculates on a Hollywood actors HIV status.

The paper published the article on it's front page today, titled 'Hollywood HIV Panic', that claims 'Hollywood was gripped with fear last night after a womanising A-list actor was diagnosed with HIV'.

The Sun has 'chosen not to name' the actor, but claims that they have had a string of high-profile lovers, including 'an award winning actress', a 'busty glamour model' and a 'celebrated media personality'.

The article goes on to speculate that the lawyers for the 'superstar' were preparing themselves for a 'raft of potential legal claims'.

The article, and the headline, have been highly criticised by both the public as well as HIV campaign groups.  Many went to Twitter to slam the article, some of whom suggested it was more like the articles on HIV produced in the 1980's.

Shaun Griffin, of the British HIV charity Terrence Higgins Trust, spoke to The Independent and said, 'The fact is that for anyone diagnosed with HIV, they are given treatment that reduces the amount of HIV virus to an 'undetectable' amount and this means that HIV cannot be passed on.'

'The fact is that it's utterly wrong to disclose an individuals HIV status without their permission - though we are not provided with enough information here to identify them.  Even with the advances made in HIV treatment, this shows that unfounded prejudices still remain.  It's attitudes like these that perpetuate HIV stigma.'

'Stigma is a dangerous construct and we've seen that it has a damaging effect on individuals and public health.  It can deter people from accessing testing or treatment, and can isolate someone living with HIV causing anxiety and depression'.

According to the HIV Aware charity an estimated 100,000 people in the UK are currently living with HIV, and one in five of those are believed to be undiagnosed.

Amy.
xx


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The Flash 'Enter Zoom' Review

Wow, what an episode.  After weeks of build up and tease, after seeing a blurry Zoom beat Jay Garrick in a fight, after hearing the creepy voice of Tony Todd say scary stuff we finally get to see Zoom in action against Barry, and it doesn't disappoint at all.

The first part of the episode was all further build up to the climatic fight, that saw some slow character moments that were able to build tension whilst managing some warm and funny beats that got to showcase the whole of the cast.

Following on from the previous weeks encounter with the villainous Earth-2's Doctor Light the team must turn to their worlds version of her, Linda Park, in order to form a trap for the evil speedster Zoom.  The warehouse scene in which team Flash try to teach Linda how to act in the part was one of the funniest the show has had, with some great visual comedy in the form of Cisco's cardboard cut outs of the group.

Having Linda take the place of her Earth-2 counterpart not only helped to complicate what would have been a pretty straight-forward plan, but also brought Linda into a more prominent role, even going so far as to trust her with Barry's secret.  Which is good for fans of the source material as she felt a lot like a throw away character in the first season.

Despite these comic elements there were plenty of dramatic beats leading up to the conclusion, including a further look into the past of the Earth-2 Harrison Wells.  We not only learn that the daughter that Zoom kidnapped is none other than Jesse Quick (please give her super speed too CW), but that Wells is not another of Zooms agents sent to kill Barry, just a desperate man willing to do anything to save his daughter.  These brief looks into Wells' past also gave us an interesting insight into the Earth-2 version of Green Arrow, who in that universe was Robert Queen, instead of Oliver.

The call backs to Barry's previous feud with the Reverse Flash also help to give a possible insight into his drive to face Zoom, that his lack of closure in not being the one to defeat the Reverse Flash at the end of season one might be leading to him making some rash choices.

After all the build up the team were ready to face off against the villainous Zoom, but nothing happened.  Their plan was a bust.  Instead Zoom lures team Flash into a false sense of security before striking, showing us all just how cunning and calculating the villain really is.

Not only is Zoom smart enough not to fall blindly into the trap set for him, he's pretty damn scary.  With a face that reminds me of a creature from my nightmares and the gravelly rasp of Tony Todd Zoom is instantly made memorable and vastly different from the Reverse Flash.

Just like with the Reverse Flash, Barry's first fight against Zoom does not go well.  Unlike that fight though, Barry was lucky to escape with his life.  Up against a foe even stronger and faster than the Reverse Flash Barry is quickly beaten into submission before being held aloft as a defeated and broken hero in front of Central City's press and police.

The season definitely hit a high point with this episode, firmly cementing the threat of their new villain, shutting down any complaints that he's just another Reverse Flash and setting up some new drama (though I doubt Barry will stay paralysed for long).

Amy.
xx


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