The Queen's Gambit

[Secular Sanity]

I just finished the second episode. So far, so good.

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/CDrieqwSdgI

[confused2]

Chick flick?

[Secular Sanity]

Chick flick?

Yeah, probably. It's really good though.

I love war movies, adventure, historical pieces, etc. I'd never even think to ask if it's a dick flick. Odd, isn't it?

[Syne]

While I love Anya Taylor-Joy, even Emma (definite chick flick), this looks pretty dark and humorless. Probably not my thing.

Since many more women seem to love action, etc. movies than guys like chick flicks, that would seem to explain the disparate genre descriptions. Besides, "dick flicks" are already called porn.

[Secular Sanity]

While I love Anya Taylor-Joy, even Emma (definite chick flick), this looks pretty dark and humorless. Probably not my thing.

So far, it's not really all that dark. 

Since many more women seem to love action, etc. movies than guys like chick flicks, that would seem to explain the disparate genre descriptions. Besides, "dick flicks" are already called porn.

Maybe it’s just the way that males are portrayed in these films.

[Syne]

While I love Anya Taylor-Joy, even Emma (definite chick flick), this looks pretty dark and humorless. Probably not my thing.

So far, it's not really all that dark. 

The trailer seems to show quite a bit of alcoholism and maybe hints at some sort of abuse.

Since many more women seem to love action, etc. movies than guys like chick flicks, that would seem to explain the disparate genre descriptions. Besides, "dick flicks" are already called porn.

Maybe it’s just the way that males are portrayed in these films.

Yeah, chick flicks lean toward the romance novel side of porn.

[C C]

I just finished the second episode. So far, so good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDrieqwSdgI

What a relief. My toxic-mold damaged brain and its initial cognitive error tendencies somehow mistook the title for "Vagrant Queen", at first. That's like confusing an outhouse with an art house foyer. Move over, Mr Magoo.

Chess is a sport, I suppose, but that probably qualifies card and video games as such too. Maybe distinctions could be made like "prestigious tradition" versus "gambling" versus "vulgar pop commercialism".

From a review: "While there, she develops three things: a friendship with Jolene [...] a passion for chess, and a physical and emotional dependence on the little green tranquilizers fed to the children until they’re outlawed by the state."

Speaking of such back in circa that era or before... Child actors were given both the up and down. Amphetamines to keep them going during days-long work hours and barbiturates to shut them down totally when they finally got an interval to sleep. Surprised that HistoryDotCom mentions the very Judy Garland account I remember from years ago. ("Remember"... wow, how strange to be mentioning that mental function in a positive or non-misfire context again...) 
- - - - -

There was no official policy of drug use within Hollywood studios, but the carefully regimented system that cultivated movie stars often relied on behind-the-scenes drug use to power actors through unthinkably long days. Child actors were supposed to be subject to strict labor laws that regulated the hours they spent on set; however [...] studio heads always tried to push the boundaries of those hours.

Judy Garland [...] was introduced to “pep pills” by her mother, who insisted "The Wizard of Oz" actor take them in order to give an energetic performance. Over the years, as Garland became a bigger star, she was prescribed pills by MGM studio doctors to control both her weight and her energy levels.

“They’d give [me and Mickey Rooney] pills to keep us on our feet long after we were exhausted,” Garland told biographer Paul Donnelley. “Then they’d take us to the studio hospital and knock us out with sleeping pills... then after four hours they’d wake us up and give us the pep pills again so we could work 72 hours in a row. Half of the time we were hanging from the ceiling but it was a way of life for us.”

For Garland, who found it difficult to deal with the pressure of being one of MGM’s most visible and hardest-working stars, this regimen led to full-blown addiction and a series of nervous breakdowns. She died of a drug overdose at age 47.

[Secular Sanity]

Yeah, chick flicks lean toward the romance novel side of porn.

That’s not what I was thinking about. I was thinking about how men are either portrayed as flawed (until we fix them) or as the ideal man with the bar raised too high for the average male.

Hmm, romance is a problem that only females encounter or experience⸮…interesting.

---

I just finished the second episode. So far, so good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDrieqwSdgI

What a relief. My toxic-mold damaged brain and its initial cognitive error tendencies somehow mistook the title for "Vagrant Queen", at first. That's like confusing an outhouse with an art house foyer. Move over, Mr Magoo.

Chess is a sport, I suppose, but that probably qualifies card and video games as such too. Maybe distinctions could be made like "prestigious tradition" versus "gambling" versus "vulgar pop commercialism".

From a review: "While there, she develops three things: a friendship with Jolene [...] a passion for chess, and a physical and emotional dependence on the little green tranquilizers fed to the children until they’re outlawed by the state."

Speaking of such back in circa that era or before... Child actors were given both the up and down. Amphetamines to keep them going during days-long work hours and barbiturates to shut them down totally when they finally got an interval to sleep. Surprised that HistoryDotCom mentions the very Judy Garland account I remember from years ago. ("Remember"... wow, how strange to be mentioning that mental function in a positive or non-misfire context again...) 
- - - - -

There was no official policy of drug use within Hollywood studios, but the carefully regimented system that cultivated movie stars often relied on behind-the-scenes drug use to power actors through unthinkably long days. Child actors were supposed to be subject to strict labor laws that regulated the hours they spent on set; however [...] studio heads always tried to push the boundaries of those hours.

Judy Garland [...] was introduced to “pep pills” by her mother, who insisted "The Wizard of Oz" actor take them in order to give an energetic performance. Over the years, as Garland became a bigger star, she was prescribed pills by MGM studio doctors to control both her weight and her energy levels.

“They’d give [me and Mickey Rooney] pills to keep us on our feet long after we were exhausted,” Garland told biographer Paul Donnelley. “Then they’d take us to the studio hospital and knock us out with sleeping pills... then after four hours they’d wake us up and give us the pep pills again so we could work 72 hours in a row. Half of the time we were hanging from the ceiling but it was a way of life for us.”

For Garland, who found it difficult to deal with the pressure of being one of MGM’s most visible and hardest-working stars, this regimen led to full-blown addiction and a series of nervous breakdowns. She died of a drug overdose at age 47.

I didn't realize it was that bad. Weird.

[Syne]

Yeah, chick flicks lean toward the romance novel side of porn.

That’s not what I was thinking about. I was thinking about how men are either portrayed as flawed (until we fix them) or as the ideal man with the bar raised too high for the average male. 

Any good story has obstacles and character growth. Stories tailored to women just favor men as the obstacle and learning how to fix them the growth. Stories tailored to men favor other men as obstacles (bad guys, enemies in war, etc.) and overcoming long odds the growth.

Hmm, romance is a problem that only females encounter or experience⸮…interesting.

I think it's just that women are the ones who more often view romance as a problem. Hence the focus of chick flicks being on men.

[Zinjanthropos]

Saw first episode last night. A lot of foreshadowing. Wouldn’t have guessed High school chess star would go down easy...lol. Will Dad/family show up or is adoption in the works. Kept waiting for a sexual predator to emerge, no shortage of candidates.

For me it’s hard to be critical of how social services worked in the past. I hope that they were trying their best with what was known at the time. Hindsight is perfect however.

It isn’t exactly Annie. So dark, dull and lifeless. “The Sun won’t come out tomorrow and it’s a hard drug life”. I’ll watch episode two.