wanderings

I threw this playlist together last summer in advance of a wedding day I figured I'd have a lot of downtime around since I wasn't in the wedding party; the wedding was great but the downtime didn't happen so much.

01. Wonder Woman (2017) | Titanium by Anoel | 2:50
You shoot me down, but I won't fall.
Wonder Woman as the indestructible warrior, who made herself into a blade and then chose how to wield that power. This feels like something to dance to, full of furious confidence and so many goddamned feelings about Diana of Themiscrya.

02. Pride (2014) | This Sullen Welsh Heart by futuransky | 3:49
You can't keep on struggling when you're alone.
A vid about helping your fellow man and victory amidst defeat, maybe. It reminds me of that Margaret Mead quote ("Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.") and is full of feeling and how the small things matter and can be great. Unions, allies, friendship, love, and oppression. It's like a beautiful dream that everything would be alright if we could all just hold hands.

03. Imagine Me & You (2005) | Come and Find Me by chaila | 2:51
I would guess that you put something up my sleeve.
Luce and Rachel's love story, distilled, sweet and lovely, set to a kind of hopeful longing Josh Ritter song, and more syrupy than the film itself - a glorious wallow.

04. Yuri!!! on Ice | Never Look Away by helcinda | 3:37
Some nights we're choking on the words / But some we light on fire
A devastating combination of physical and emotional beats with an intro like a dance, spliced skating synced to music like a good routine and transitioning to a profusion of feelings and events. Yuuri and Victor are excellent and so damn human and so in love and it's that - lovely and joyful and utterly, utterly human.

05. Hamilton RPF | I Gotta Feeling by elipie | 4:07
Go out and smash it!
The experience of being a Hamilton fan unfolded a lot like this for me; there's a sense of discovery and excitement and possibility, footage of the stage and backstage and actors and all of the same types of clips I was plowing through - a sense of excitement not just for what was on the stage but the process of getting it on the stage and what it meant for the people involved in that and what the production and the process and its success meant for the players and the audience. (Like, yeah, tonight's gonna be a good good night.)

06. Space RPF | Going through space with the world by bironic | 2:08
From "day in the life of an astronaut" videos to international stardom; or, Chris Hadfield and his adorable mustache.
This vid does exactly what it says in the summary and is this quiet lovely utterly captivating build of science communication and music and laughter and space and learning and dreams and this man who captured our hearts. Well-structured and completely charming.

07. Pacific Rim (2013) | The Breaking Light by such_heights | 4:22
Let your lion heart cleave the waves.
This vid renders fight scenes delicate. It's about loss and hope and kinship and is a really great reading of the film. The Vienna Teng song it's set to does a good a good job of helping to strip the source down and exhibit all of this physical and emotional vulnerability; this vid draws on the source's themes and makes everything feel very real and emotionally proximate while also sustaining this strong atmospheric mood. I'm gibbering, basically, but this vid does all kinds of cool things and is just lovely.

08. The Martian (2015) | Pompeii by milly | 2:47
"In the face of overwhelming odds, I'm left with only one option, I'm gonna have to science the shit out of this."
This is another vid that captures the meaning of its film source - this is The Martian's survival story, science and flailing and ridiculous victories and the terrible shit that just happens. It's a story of triumph and humans human-ing. There are some neat beats with light in this that I've stared at a lot but mostly when I watch this vid what goes through my head is how am I going to be an optimist about this?; it drives that message through. I love it.

09. Hidden Figures (2016) | Phenomenal Woman by odessie | 2:33
Breaking boundaries and chasing fire
If Laura Mvula had done the film's soundtrack I imagine the experience would have felt like this, that is- glorious. The three leads fly.

10. Black Panther (2018) | Shrimp by such_heights | 0:45
"Just because something works doesn't mean it can't be improved." A Shuri vidlet.
This vidlet does an excellent job of showing just why Shuri is so many people's favourite; she's the best. This thing is fun and kind of adorable.

11. Star Wars | Desperado by fightingarrival | 3:06
There ain’t nothing here for me anymore, but I don’t want to be alone. (A WisCon 41 premiere)
Finn's relationships with Poe and Rey - that joy and optimism and hand-holding - set against what they're fighting against. This vid feels sexy the way noir films are, like something balanced on an edge about to fall over.

12. A Dorothy L. Sayers Mystery (1987) | Heroes by starlady | 3:19
We can be us, just for one day
When Peter and Harriet first meet in the series he falls in love, instantly, and she likes him well enough but is going through an ordeal, just got out of a serious relationship, and there's an unequal power dynamic between them, so she turns him down and it is absolutely the right thing to do. Harriet works on recovering and Peter tries to be there for her without getting in the way or hurting her in the process. There's all of this delicious pining and working on their relationship and doing work so that they can be in a relationship before they get together, and that's what this vid is - that striving, and that dream. It made me go seek out this adaptation and then, when I was trying to write this, go watch it again.

13. Elementary | Puncture Repair by purplefringe | 1:48
I leaned on you today (and I have promises to keep)
Pain and tragedy and need countered by support and companionship and friendship. Quiet and gorgeous.

14. Multifandom | Stand By You by thingswithwings | 4:01
Male privilege is a shield; you can choose what you use that shield for.
Watching this vid without crying has been an effort. There's a kind of purity to it - that it's all of these moments of true partnership and teamwork and respect and trust and friendship and support; it's beautiful and it makes me cry. It's probably why this playlist exists and is basically my wish for my friend and each one of us, that we have this, but with less peril. (Goals, cultural.)