Before we get into this, this post isn't long enough yet ;) so first a quick little author's note including a tiny bit of spoiler talk about a scene from next week. Don't say I didn't warn ya.
Anyway, I got a tickle to write this article after the episode last night (April 30), started rambling happily and straight into the morning, then suddenly it was 9 am and I remembered I had to run off to an appointment at 9:30am, but I hadn't finished writing yet! Itching to get back to it though. Got back home at 11am, was going to write more and finish it, but a friend asked me for help on her thesis. She's not good at English so I offered to help her with that a while ago. This bit she had couldn't wait, she had to hand it in today, so I spent until 4 pm checking that. Still not finished the blog, still itching. Text was done at least, still had to clean it up a bit, but at 6pm I had to leave again, sporty stuff to do, the last week of this season, which means last practice, last game on sunday, so I wasn't gonna miss tonight. It was emotional, I'm kind of drained at the moment. But, this post is still not finished so I got right back to it. My points were mostly made, it was just cleaning up I had to do. Which is what I did just now.
Early this afternoon however, before practice, I see that a spoiler has been posted. Now while I think the spoiler itself is really promising, it says that Clara admits she loves Marina and that she loves Cadu and she thinks she's bisexual, loves them both equally. She also says she can't decide, she doesn't know how, maybe because she hasn't been with Marina yet, so she doesn't know what it's like.
Well, what do you know, I just spent six hours rambling about exactly that, about her having no comparison, she doesn't know what she is missing, which is why she can't choose. Also trying to convince certain people who don't believe that she indeed loves Marina. Because if she did, she wouldn't be all couply with Cadu, right? No, wrong, is my opinion, Which is why this post was trying to explain why she does love her and why it does make sense for Clara to still be affectionate with him. And then that spoiler comes out.
Well crap.
I wish I'd finished this before it came out, cause this post after that bit of info might seem to some, like: 'Yeah dude, everything you said was on that page as well and they said it in only 3 lines'. Humm, yeah, true. But I don't do 3 lines, I do 3 pages. At least. Yes this is long, I lied in the beginning and I'm not sorry. :P It's also not at all my point.
Friday, May 02, 2014
Saturday, April 26, 2014
The Bedroom Scene - A Masterpiece
The scene in the bedroom was one of the most wonderful scenes I've had the pleasure to witness. It contained such a big pile of emotion, in words, faces, tone of voice, body language, I was in love with this picture on the web today and the scene didn’t let me down. It delivered with a vengeance.
We start of course, with Clara walking into Marina’s house with in the back of her mind the fact that she slept with Cadu. Still have to dive into that scene, so for now gonna let that rest when it comes to how she felt about that. I need to get into this one first and it needs to be now. :P
We start of course, with Clara walking into Marina’s house with in the back of her mind the fact that she slept with Cadu. Still have to dive into that scene, so for now gonna let that rest when it comes to how she felt about that. I need to get into this one first and it needs to be now. :P
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Clarina Recap 2, Em Familia, 14 feb
We start our episode at Marina's large house overseeing a pool. This is a lady whose family has a lot of money, I'd say she’s not doing so bad for herself. We see her in bed flanked by Vanessa on one side and a doctor on the other. I think I just realized why people become doctors if this is the kind of house call you get to make.
It's the morning after Marina fainted at her party, the doctor tells the ladies that it’s all about stress and how many people suffer from it these days. I think it’s a rather accurate diagnosis. I think meeting the love of your life and falling head over heels in love with her and then finding out she’s married can indeed cause a lot of stress. Good doctor, this one. Vanessa also has an opinion and asks with a look that says she already knows the answer if this could possibly be related to not eating much and too much alcohol. Yeah, that could also be it. Perceptive doctor and perceptive friend. Seems Marina is in good hands.
It's the morning after Marina fainted at her party, the doctor tells the ladies that it’s all about stress and how many people suffer from it these days. I think it’s a rather accurate diagnosis. I think meeting the love of your life and falling head over heels in love with her and then finding out she’s married can indeed cause a lot of stress. Good doctor, this one. Vanessa also has an opinion and asks with a look that says she already knows the answer if this could possibly be related to not eating much and too much alcohol. Yeah, that could also be it. Perceptive doctor and perceptive friend. Seems Marina is in good hands.
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Clarina is teaching Brazil to accept gay story lines in the best subtle way possible
We had a discussion on the forum regarding the show and how the conversations in it are actually cleverly hidden attempts to educate the people watching. To show the ones who are 'against' homosexuality that it's not a bad evil thing at all. Original post here. The following below is my reply to another member.
I think that is exactly it. You can almost compare all this to Sesame Street for grownups, as in, they teach kids about right and wrong, basic things in life.
The audience here already has a fixed idea on what right and wrong is, the difference is, that idea is based on previous times. Times have changed though, and right and wrong has changed. 200 years ago the idea of women voting and having any say in things was outrageous. It took a long hard battle to change that around, but over time, people changed their views and the younger generations grew up believing in the 'new and improved' version.
That's what's happening here too. The younger generation and the open minded people in the older generations now banded together to get this new idea in people's minds that homosexuality isn't evil. In fact it's been around for a very long time and it's very normal at that. Not only are they giving hints like this in the story itself, but also the actors, even the ones not directly involved in the story line, are giving their support outside of the soap. Not the characters giving support, but the actors, the ones with a voice cause people look up to them. For example the actress that plays Sylvia, she gave her support on Twitter. Even Reynaldo, the guy who's losing his wife in the show, he publicly supported the story line. That kind of stuff matters.
When it comes to hints in the show, Clara is scared she'll lose her son's custody cause Cadu threatened he'd fight for it. Even though by law that may or may not be possible, she doesn't know that and the thought alone naturally scares her. Even though Cadu and Clara are on sort of friendly terms at the moment, he's still knows that his wife is still very much in love with Marina and the problem itself isn't going anywhere. They want the audience to realize this so the nay-sayers see a Clarina reunion coming, instead of thinking 'but they were getting along!'
So he asks Nando about it. He can see the divorce coming, maybe it will, maybe it won't, but he can sense the problem still exists and he wants to cover his angles. It's an understandable thing to do in Cadu's case. he wants to know his options, I don't really blame him when you look at it from his perspective. In his view two women can't really be in love, but Nando is the Sesame Street wise man who tells him: 'It is possible, they can fall in love, this won't hurt the child, this is not a reason to take custody from a mother.' He just says it in different words. He's not just telling Cadu, he's telling everyone watching that this is not a horrible thing and it certainly isn't a reason to separate mother and son.
Same with the Giselle/Branca scene. Giselle makes sure to point out Marina is not a hunter, she's in love. And probably so is Clara. She also makes sure her mother knows that in her opinion this cannot be used as a weapon against Chica. It's wrong. Love can't be used as a weapon, it should never be used as a weapon, cause love isn't something you choose. it's something that happens to you.
Marina may have been portrayed as somewhat of a predator in the beginning, going all in, trying to get Clara. When they went to Angra she told Vanessa she was hoping for more to happen. More being sex. As the story progressed and Marina realized she wasn't just in love and Clara was the one, it stopped being about sex, it started being about wanting to be together. Her whole demeanor changed, she stopped ordering Clara around like 'you're coming for dinner' etc, instead of wanting Clara to spend time with her because Marina wanted it, she wanted Clara to spend time with her because Clara wanted it. She wasn't a conquest, she was an equal, someone she highly respected and genuinely wanted her to respect her back. So her whole attitude changed.
Scene at the beach with Helena, Helena asks how she and Cadu are doing. She says they are doing better. No funky grin, nothing. Just a slight smile. They were fighting before. They aren't fighting all the time now. They're doing better and she is happy about it. When Helena asks about Marina, they are doing better too, and a huge naughty smile appears. They were already doing good, there was no fighting. The better refers to the romantic aspect, that's doing better. They just shared a huge romantic and intimate kiss that got Clara's hormones to fire up.
Even though the conversation between them was about Cadu and Marina both, when Helena goes to get a drink, it's Marina that Clara is thinking about. It her she sends a wonderful loving text, has the cutest phone conversation with. At the same time they show Marina at home, waiting patiently for news, being totally ecstatic when she receives it, bouncing up and down in her bed when she sees it's a message from Clara. Every housewife remembers what it was like to be in love as a teenager, how they bounced up and down when their crush acknowledged them. They can see that Marina is totally in love, they can see Clara is totally in love too.
It's exactly like a lot of you have already said here, it's educating. Love between women is possible, it's happening. It's not an evil thing. It's not anything that can decide custody over a child, Cadu is being educated along with the audience. I suspect he will come to terms with this at one point. Will be a while, sure, but he will see it. He will see it's just the way it is and that he didn't lose his wife specifically to another woman, he will see he lost his wife cause she loved someone else more than him. The fact that it's a woman, doesn't matter. Him accepting this will be crucial. If Cadu can accept it, so should the audience.
Nando's conversation with him was crucial. Giselle's conversation the same. Branca represents the housewife, the one who still thinks this is a scandal, something to hold on to, something to use as a weapon. Giselle represents the voice of reason, not only telling her it's love, but also scolding her mother about how you can't use love as a weapon. The whole audience can see that Branca is one to stir up trouble, she uses stuff to her advantage. Her 'ways' are evil and the audience is being given a message that using this love as a weapon is evil too. it's not right. Giselle stands up for her friends, the people she cares about. She's not just standing up for Marina here, she's standing up for her new step-sister Clara, also for the woman her father has fallen in love with, Chica. She cares about them. It's a textbook example of 'the good and the bad guy'. Using Clara and Marina as a weapon, only the bad guy would do. That's the real scandal.
That's what the soap is slowly working towards. They show nothing but affection and happy faces when Clara and Marina are together. They show friendship but not passion, when Clara and Cadu are together. They want the audience to see the real relationships here and that it's ok to be divorced, as long as you can all respect each other still.
Helena represents the conservative housewife as well, don't leave your husband, how would he feel? Choose your family, forget yourself. She chose her family a long time ago, she married not for herself, but for other people. She had this idea that that was what she was supposed to do back then. She too will change her view, she will see that choosing to forget about your own happiness is silly. Choosing unhappiness, being a dutiful housewife, those ideas are in the past. She too will see, 'Clara should choose happiness.' And with her, the housewife will relate.
I realize much of what I said has been said before, this is just me agreeing with it in my own words
No matter what spoiler they throw at us, it's all part of the wonderful buildup not only towards 'Clarina', but towards making the audience see. There is no doubt in my mind and there hasn't been in a long time that this is what they are doing. Any spoiler that seems meh for us (Cadu and Clara have sex, Marina and Vanessa maybe sex, renewing vows, ring, whatever), it all a brilliant laid out plan to change the mind of a generation that was taught to disagree with this. They are being re-educated, they are being shown that it's ok to be gay, that as long as there is true love involved, you have to follow your heart. They are taught that the scandal isn't a lesbian relationship, the scandal is choosing an unhappy life.
That takes time. I am very happy the writers and the makers of the show saw the importance of that and decided to take all the time they needed, because they saw the huge relevance in this message and to its audience. It's truly groundbreaking and they deserve all the props.
We shouldn't boycott anything, we shouldn't give them negative feedback. We should praise them for doing this exactly the way we need them to.
I think that is exactly it. You can almost compare all this to Sesame Street for grownups, as in, they teach kids about right and wrong, basic things in life.
The audience here already has a fixed idea on what right and wrong is, the difference is, that idea is based on previous times. Times have changed though, and right and wrong has changed. 200 years ago the idea of women voting and having any say in things was outrageous. It took a long hard battle to change that around, but over time, people changed their views and the younger generations grew up believing in the 'new and improved' version.
That's what's happening here too. The younger generation and the open minded people in the older generations now banded together to get this new idea in people's minds that homosexuality isn't evil. In fact it's been around for a very long time and it's very normal at that. Not only are they giving hints like this in the story itself, but also the actors, even the ones not directly involved in the story line, are giving their support outside of the soap. Not the characters giving support, but the actors, the ones with a voice cause people look up to them. For example the actress that plays Sylvia, she gave her support on Twitter. Even Reynaldo, the guy who's losing his wife in the show, he publicly supported the story line. That kind of stuff matters.
When it comes to hints in the show, Clara is scared she'll lose her son's custody cause Cadu threatened he'd fight for it. Even though by law that may or may not be possible, she doesn't know that and the thought alone naturally scares her. Even though Cadu and Clara are on sort of friendly terms at the moment, he's still knows that his wife is still very much in love with Marina and the problem itself isn't going anywhere. They want the audience to realize this so the nay-sayers see a Clarina reunion coming, instead of thinking 'but they were getting along!'
So he asks Nando about it. He can see the divorce coming, maybe it will, maybe it won't, but he can sense the problem still exists and he wants to cover his angles. It's an understandable thing to do in Cadu's case. he wants to know his options, I don't really blame him when you look at it from his perspective. In his view two women can't really be in love, but Nando is the Sesame Street wise man who tells him: 'It is possible, they can fall in love, this won't hurt the child, this is not a reason to take custody from a mother.' He just says it in different words. He's not just telling Cadu, he's telling everyone watching that this is not a horrible thing and it certainly isn't a reason to separate mother and son.
Same with the Giselle/Branca scene. Giselle makes sure to point out Marina is not a hunter, she's in love. And probably so is Clara. She also makes sure her mother knows that in her opinion this cannot be used as a weapon against Chica. It's wrong. Love can't be used as a weapon, it should never be used as a weapon, cause love isn't something you choose. it's something that happens to you.
Marina may have been portrayed as somewhat of a predator in the beginning, going all in, trying to get Clara. When they went to Angra she told Vanessa she was hoping for more to happen. More being sex. As the story progressed and Marina realized she wasn't just in love and Clara was the one, it stopped being about sex, it started being about wanting to be together. Her whole demeanor changed, she stopped ordering Clara around like 'you're coming for dinner' etc, instead of wanting Clara to spend time with her because Marina wanted it, she wanted Clara to spend time with her because Clara wanted it. She wasn't a conquest, she was an equal, someone she highly respected and genuinely wanted her to respect her back. So her whole attitude changed.
Scene at the beach with Helena, Helena asks how she and Cadu are doing. She says they are doing better. No funky grin, nothing. Just a slight smile. They were fighting before. They aren't fighting all the time now. They're doing better and she is happy about it. When Helena asks about Marina, they are doing better too, and a huge naughty smile appears. They were already doing good, there was no fighting. The better refers to the romantic aspect, that's doing better. They just shared a huge romantic and intimate kiss that got Clara's hormones to fire up.
Even though the conversation between them was about Cadu and Marina both, when Helena goes to get a drink, it's Marina that Clara is thinking about. It her she sends a wonderful loving text, has the cutest phone conversation with. At the same time they show Marina at home, waiting patiently for news, being totally ecstatic when she receives it, bouncing up and down in her bed when she sees it's a message from Clara. Every housewife remembers what it was like to be in love as a teenager, how they bounced up and down when their crush acknowledged them. They can see that Marina is totally in love, they can see Clara is totally in love too.
It's exactly like a lot of you have already said here, it's educating. Love between women is possible, it's happening. It's not an evil thing. It's not anything that can decide custody over a child, Cadu is being educated along with the audience. I suspect he will come to terms with this at one point. Will be a while, sure, but he will see it. He will see it's just the way it is and that he didn't lose his wife specifically to another woman, he will see he lost his wife cause she loved someone else more than him. The fact that it's a woman, doesn't matter. Him accepting this will be crucial. If Cadu can accept it, so should the audience.
Nando's conversation with him was crucial. Giselle's conversation the same. Branca represents the housewife, the one who still thinks this is a scandal, something to hold on to, something to use as a weapon. Giselle represents the voice of reason, not only telling her it's love, but also scolding her mother about how you can't use love as a weapon. The whole audience can see that Branca is one to stir up trouble, she uses stuff to her advantage. Her 'ways' are evil and the audience is being given a message that using this love as a weapon is evil too. it's not right. Giselle stands up for her friends, the people she cares about. She's not just standing up for Marina here, she's standing up for her new step-sister Clara, also for the woman her father has fallen in love with, Chica. She cares about them. It's a textbook example of 'the good and the bad guy'. Using Clara and Marina as a weapon, only the bad guy would do. That's the real scandal.
That's what the soap is slowly working towards. They show nothing but affection and happy faces when Clara and Marina are together. They show friendship but not passion, when Clara and Cadu are together. They want the audience to see the real relationships here and that it's ok to be divorced, as long as you can all respect each other still.
Helena represents the conservative housewife as well, don't leave your husband, how would he feel? Choose your family, forget yourself. She chose her family a long time ago, she married not for herself, but for other people. She had this idea that that was what she was supposed to do back then. She too will change her view, she will see that choosing to forget about your own happiness is silly. Choosing unhappiness, being a dutiful housewife, those ideas are in the past. She too will see, 'Clara should choose happiness.' And with her, the housewife will relate.
I realize much of what I said has been said before, this is just me agreeing with it in my own words
No matter what spoiler they throw at us, it's all part of the wonderful buildup not only towards 'Clarina', but towards making the audience see. There is no doubt in my mind and there hasn't been in a long time that this is what they are doing. Any spoiler that seems meh for us (Cadu and Clara have sex, Marina and Vanessa maybe sex, renewing vows, ring, whatever), it all a brilliant laid out plan to change the mind of a generation that was taught to disagree with this. They are being re-educated, they are being shown that it's ok to be gay, that as long as there is true love involved, you have to follow your heart. They are taught that the scandal isn't a lesbian relationship, the scandal is choosing an unhappy life.That takes time. I am very happy the writers and the makers of the show saw the importance of that and decided to take all the time they needed, because they saw the huge relevance in this message and to its audience. It's truly groundbreaking and they deserve all the props.
We shouldn't boycott anything, we shouldn't give them negative feedback. We should praise them for doing this exactly the way we need them to.
Monday, April 21, 2014
Clarina Recap 1, Em Família 12 &13 feb
We open in a glamorous setting. As appropriate swoon-worthy music graces our ears we see a large room and many huge photographs on display, a stairwell in the middle leading up to yet more glamour in purple. We are at an exposition. I’m already loving the purple-blue glow this whole thing is shining at me, but as people start to applaud at something yet to be revealed to us, I know it’s about to get even better.
We see a woman at the top of the stairs. Dressed in white and silver, the glitters on her gown shine bright in the spotlight, yet seem to disappear in the shadows compared to the sensual beauty that radiates from the marvelous creature they surround. She descends the stairs slowly, people applaud even louder, she smiles and takes it all in as she reaches the bottom of the stairs and allows everybody to wonder where this woman has been all their life. Or maybe it’s just me wondering if I’m not actually dreaming, since I find it impossible for anyone to look this gorgeous and wonderful and have this sensuality and grace without trying. Nobody like this exists, so I must be dreaming. But I am not dreaming, I just met Marina.
We see a woman at the top of the stairs. Dressed in white and silver, the glitters on her gown shine bright in the spotlight, yet seem to disappear in the shadows compared to the sensual beauty that radiates from the marvelous creature they surround. She descends the stairs slowly, people applaud even louder, she smiles and takes it all in as she reaches the bottom of the stairs and allows everybody to wonder where this woman has been all their life. Or maybe it’s just me wondering if I’m not actually dreaming, since I find it impossible for anyone to look this gorgeous and wonderful and have this sensuality and grace without trying. Nobody like this exists, so I must be dreaming. But I am not dreaming, I just met Marina.
Clara/Marina/Vanessa, let's take a closer look.
So there was some talk about a possible spoiler of Vanessa and Marina waking up intimately one morning, possibly implying sex. Here's my thoughts on that:
First of all, I’d like to say that I don’t mind at all if Clara gets a little reason to be jealous. Up till now Marina has been very clear that Clara is all she thinks about. I’m here, I’m waiting, don’t forget me, etc. Everything she told Clara has been nothing but ‘You’re all I think about, there is no one else.’ I believe this to be very true, I also think Clara believes this to be very true.
Even though Clara wants to be with Marina, I think this may have given her a bit of ‘extra’ time in her head, regarding the situation at home, with Cadu. She doesn't want people to get hurt, she cares about Cadu, wants her son to not get in the middle, doesn't want to lose custody, Marina has told her nothing but ‘take your time, I’ll be waiting’, Clara at this point has no urgency to solve it, other than her own desires. However, her own desires are the reason they are in this mess, so she feels that at this moment those own desires aren’t #1 priority. Her family comes first and what she wants has to be put on the backburner. Marina will be there.
First of all, I’d like to say that I don’t mind at all if Clara gets a little reason to be jealous. Up till now Marina has been very clear that Clara is all she thinks about. I’m here, I’m waiting, don’t forget me, etc. Everything she told Clara has been nothing but ‘You’re all I think about, there is no one else.’ I believe this to be very true, I also think Clara believes this to be very true.
Even though Clara wants to be with Marina, I think this may have given her a bit of ‘extra’ time in her head, regarding the situation at home, with Cadu. She doesn't want people to get hurt, she cares about Cadu, wants her son to not get in the middle, doesn't want to lose custody, Marina has told her nothing but ‘take your time, I’ll be waiting’, Clara at this point has no urgency to solve it, other than her own desires. However, her own desires are the reason they are in this mess, so she feels that at this moment those own desires aren’t #1 priority. Her family comes first and what she wants has to be put on the backburner. Marina will be there.
Saturday, April 19, 2014
Clara & Marina, why they can make a difference. Please read this. The message matters and they deserve it. We all do.
Please reblog, retweet, repost, retumblr, anywhere you can, if this matters to you too.
The girls at Clarina Portugal have created a video for the campaign ClarinaAmorSemCensura. It tells us and everyone else why a wonderful story like this deserves to be viewed as any other romantic story ever shown on television. Not only is this a beautiful tale of love, it's the story of two women who have come a long way since they fell madly and hopelessly in love at first sight, rediscovered themselves through each other, still fight to be together and have some ways to go. But, I have absolute faith that they will get there, they will find each other. Their feelings literally scream at me from my screen and there is no denying that this is true love we're talking about.
As it happens, I think a story of true love should not be censored just because the same-sex pairing isn't right according to some. According to a whole lot of others, this pairing is fine. More than fine. Just like any other love story, this one needs to be told in all its wonderful glory. Why? Because this one is special. It's raw, it's real, I believe it, it takes me along for the ride in all the ways I want it to.
So on top of the video, I am going to explain to you why exactly this story matters so much to me and to others and I will do that in all the magnificent details I can manage to find, which believe me, is a lot. So sit back and I hope you will let me take you along and make you see it, I hope I can make you feel why these gorgeous ladies deserve to have their story shared with us, without anyone holding back for reasons most of us stopped understanding a long time ago.
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