Peter Dawson - Tumblr Posts

heathers takes that are too small to have a post of their own

duke being a victim and duke being an abuser are statements that can coexist

heather duke is undeniably a victim of heather chandler's abusive behaviour and her treatment of mcnamara is intentionally written to be a continuation of that chain of harm. this should be base-level media literacy. you don't have to woobify or demonize heather duke to make her interesting, buddy.

heather chandler being a victim is also a valid statement

we know very little about chandler's upbringing that we could use to make a conclusive statement about why she is the way she is but it's not hard to see a lot of the other contributing factors. she's the victim of a misogynistic and objectifying culture that forces young girls into unrealistic roles and has to live her life as a glowing, inhuman paragon as opposed to a breathing human. heather chandler is not hot shit. she thinks she is and everyone else feeds into that façade but heather chandler is fundamentally not hot shit. the two-dimensional writing of her as just 'the mythic bitch' that i see in the fanbase is you falling for the façade that's meant to be deconstructed by the viewer.

the mirror scene in the movie is one of the most important insights into chandler's characterisation

everything about this shot is perfection to me and it's only about five or so seconds. we've just seen chandler be unambiguously pressured into giving an older stranger oral sex on-screen, which i should clarify is sexual assault. and to see her acknowledge behind closed doors the reality of her situation and the disgust she holds for herself and the things she thinks she 'has to do' to maintain popularity? and to have those feelings conveyed through no words, but merely through her spitting at her own reflection with such anger in her eyes? this film just gets you, man.

it's one of the many, many instances within the movie that intentionally calls out the normalisation of sexual coercion in the 1980s high school environment. which, going into my next topic...

more people need to realise how much light the film sheds on teenage sexuality

yes, i understand this is a wholly uncomfortable topic. it's not something people want to think about nor is it something people want to portray. it happens, though, it happened then and it happens now, and it's a legitimate and dangerous issue.

i see two sides of the fanbase in regards to this. the half that intentionally ignores any and all references to the subject and continues to treat characters like kurt & ram as comedic relief and not the actual rapists they are in canon, and the 'proshipper' half that glorifies the behaviour that both the film and the musical explicitly condemn. both of you lack media literacy.

mcnamara's rape by ram is one of the primary examples of this. i see nobody exploring this in the fanbase at all, and when it is mentioned it's played for a fucking joke.

sexual harassment and assault is one of the most prolific and horrific issues amongst teenagers, particularly ones around the age range shown in the film. (16-17). i have experienced this firsthand.

you are allowed to dislike certain facets of the musical without calling it the worst thing to ever exist

i love the heathers musical. i love the soundtrack, the costume design, i love some of the characterisation choices they made.

i also detest parts of it for what it does to the base cast. the layers it gives to jd are great, but making him so sympathetic and pitiable undermines the point the film is trying to make about patriarchy and manipulation. making heather duke a remorseless, snide asshole from day one whilst ignoring her victim status and downplaying her bulimia pisses me the fuck off. (i think it should be fairly obvious by now who my favourite character is)

heather mcnamara is not a saint.

i love mac. she's a great character, and yes i feel sorry for her. i think in terms of the main cast she's one of the more moral figures. this does not mean she is an innocent, cinnamon roll who can do no wrong.

heather mcnamara's main character flaw is cowardice. she goes along with the bullying and manipulation that happens around her regardless of her own personal objections, and is more than willing to kiss up to her superiors to evade punishment. she's well aware of her status as chandler's favourite 'pet' and is more than okay with engaging in the dirtier aspects of her 'job' as a popular girl. in the movie, mcnamara is the one who slips the forged note onto martha's tray and she arguably laughs the hardest about it.

yes, mcnamara is a good person. yes, she deserves the happy ending she gets, and she deserves to be able to work through those flaws and her trauma. she is still guilty.

betty finn and peter dawson are overlooked characters, no doubt because of the fandom's focus on the musical

case in point. i think we should include them more, betty especially. they're interesting people. flesh out westerburg beyond the three heathers & veronica.

A thought has occurred to me. Peak heathers Yaoi

This will be the ship dynamic