Y’all I accidentally got my English prof to watch this 😂 /pos

This was the first time I really caught Ed saying, "I'm still Blackbeard!" How many generations of us have begged our family and friends to believe that? "I'm still me!" Oooof. That hurts.

"our flag means death is a love letter to queer audiences" I think this just hits the nail in the head. I've watched ofmd 5 times, I'm completely enthralled and didn't know why until I heard this. It's a love letter for all of us, and every little detail and dialogue brings me so much comfort

The representation of homophobia in ofmd is so resonant, hits the exact feeling of internal shame.

"Stede is effeminate, cunning and easily frightened, and he betters the lives of anyone willing to get close to him not despite these traits but because of them" that last part especially is so resonant I had to pause the video and cry for a bit. FANTASTIC first video essay 🥰

I still can't get over how well the underlying metaphor of the show is woven throughout. It works for showing not only queer people coming to terms with their queerness, but also people fighting societal pressure to conform to strict gender roles. Because those concepts are inherently linked and rooted in in the same thing: sexism. Gay = fem = weak. Toxic masculinity and homophobia is about fear of losing power and ego. It's not an accident that traditionalist gender roles keep men at the top of the social hierarchy. It's no wonder that Izzy - toxic masculinity personified - is all about ego. He wants to sail with the greatest pirate that ever lived, but he'll accept Blackbeard's retirement if it means he can be the captain. When he get's the position, he wants to rename the ship after himself. He lords his power over the crew and goes into a rage whenever anyone resists his authority. He's never shown to have anything else in his life besides being a manly pirate, so it might be his sole source of self-esteem. I'm looking forward to seeing what they do with his character in season 2.

"...solely for the benefit of us seeing ourselves and knowing we deserved better all along" haha, i'm not crying, i absolutely did not shed any tears when you said that, not even one i swear

What a beautiful video essay! The way you contextualize "you defile beautiful things" hit closer to home then I wish it had to. I remember watching that scene and tearing up and not until watching your video did I completely understand why. I love this show, I love Stede Bonnet. I hope that Stede and Ed get to be together for at least one season before this show is over. Facing the world together would heal me more than I can say

For me Izzi always felt both as a personification of internalized homophobia and toxic masculinity. This show is just something wonderful and so much needed in this world, even or more especially today.

tw for mention of pederasty: Just because sex between men was seen as an inevitable fact of life in male-dominated societies, didn't mean that 'Queerness' was not punished. l think that Calico Jack is the embodiment of the reckoning between that older 'what you did vs who you are'; the excusable "dirty gay sex" versus the debasement of Gay Love which 'defiles'. It's of note that Calico Jack is designed after the aesthetic of cowboys, another incredibly homosocial environment that has been defined by its image of Ultimate Masculinity. There is a reason why Stede 'hates who Ed is around (Calico Jack)'- because he exhibits all the worst traits we associate with masculinity: rough, crude, and mean. And yet in the world of Stede Bonnet, it is the traits of meanness and cruelty that define a man and contrast Stede's gentleness. Cruelty is the trait that is binding between the high seas' Traditional Pirates, and the aristocrats that so despise Stede. In the world of Stede Bonnet, it is love and perceived femininity which is seen as undoing and weak. When Ed finally rebels against Calico Jack, it is the fact that Stede Bonnet 'is (his) friend', which is hardest for Calico Jack to understand. Buggery is a part of life, it is love which Calico Jack cannot understand. In the absence of women, sex between men was a thing that was understood as natural. Even in Grecian times, another period of intense homosociality, it was often far worse to be penetrated by another man than to do the penetrating. To bottom was to perform a women's role, and it was this that was punished harshest in many societies that modern society has started to view as more accepting of gay relationships. (Of note is that the most commonly cited period, Ancient Greece, would have pederasty as opposed to 'acceptance of homosexual relationships'- a relationship between a young boy as young as 12, being taught by an older man 'how to be a man'. These were temporary mentorship systems and were not romantic in nature, and these men would all go on to marry women and perform the role of masculinity: to overpower, dominate and subjugate) If we are to judge by the stabbing scene between Ed and Stede, Stede's literal penetration of Edward- of Blackbeard-, is a subversion of assumed and expected gender roles. In many ways it is this that brings 'history's greatest pirate to ruin', especially in the eyes of Izzy Hands. If Edward/Blackbeard had been masculine and played the role of social dominance in the dynamic between him and Stede, there would be far fewer protestations by Izzy and those who share his judgements. The fact that Stede so often guides Ed and leads him to gentleness, is essentially making Ed 'the woman' in the eyes of so many of their critics. While Stede's preference for men is never explicitly insulted, that shaming is instead aimed at the femininity of kindness, and the elements of his nature that paint him as 'queer' in every definition of the word. The fact that Stede can no longer "choose" the life that was 'drowning' him is a note that strikes many people who have come out later in life. Like so many older members of the gay community, he has to surrender his family and children if he wants to have any chance of living as his true self. That he is so drawn not just to the sea but to piracy, something which is shown immediately to have elements of gayness and freedom while also being perceived as such by modern day analysts of gay history, to the point of rejecting his wealth and escaping. While he is inevitably judged for it, the fact remains that this life was killing him just as Blackbeard was killing Edward. And then Stede gives it all up. He gives up his wealth, becomes a 'peasant' who can finally 'marry for love', and runs into the sunset to choose the one he loves. He runs into the sunset SO that he can love Edward Teach in the way he desires.

It’s so great to hear this well articulated; Izzy really betrayed Ed in that scene. His own right hand man can only see him as a legendary fictional character-Blackbeard. Stede, who represents traits such as effeminate, considerate, & caring- saves beautiful things

Thank you so much for this lovely video essay! I know it's basically canon at this point that Izzy is in love with Edward and while I do think that lends to a really interesting dynamic in regards to his hatred for Stede, I hate that it means so many people will insist that "Izzy can't be homophobic! He's gay!" Internalized homophobia is insidious and just as harmful as homophobia perpetrated by straight people. The fact that Izzy is (probably) gay doesn't change the homophobia in the scene where he confronts Edward in episode ten, but let's not also forget the scene in episode 5 (The Best Revenge is Dressing Well), after he walks in on Lucius and Black Pete after they've just had sex. For all that the "ooooh daddyyy" scene is memed to oblivion, that paired with his usage of the words "seductress" and "bitch" when referring to Lucius are incredibly homophobic. Lucius is the stereotypical flamboyant gay character archtype, and the use of female-gendered insults to emasculate and put down gay men is something homophobes have been doing since forever now, and hearing those same insults from the mouth of another gay man does not make it sting any less.

"Stede cannot hide, and is forever punished for it. Edward can, and he is stuck on that damn stage for the rest of his days -- or else." "Ed's attempt not only brings him a danger he's never allowed himself to face and therefore can't handle, blame is also placed on Stede for making him this way." "[Stede} betters the lives of anyone willing to get close to the real thing, not despite these traits, but because of them... he didn't destroy Blackbeard, he saved Ed." ^^ anyways those lines basically made me cry because your analysis was just SO GOOD BRO. I think some of the ending of the series was confusing to me because I'm not connected to those older roots of queerness -- I feel like a lot of my experience with the queer community is actually defined by the *lack* of elders and older queer people in my life (I can chalk this up to both a religious upbringing and the impact of the AIDS crisis). It didn't hit home for me, emotionally, why Stede would accept so quickly that he might "defile" Ed, or why that word in particular would be used. I could see the connections logically, but it took a more thorough analysis for me to really understand it in my heart. I can't tell if this is a good thing or not. As a young queer (early 20s), is it good that I'm not emotionally tuned-in to the same kind of homophobic and gender-strict motifs that older members of the community might be deeply impacted by? Is this a sign of progress? Or is this a sign of disconnection from my community through erasure both by homophobic education and by the huge number of deaths during the AIDS crisis? And is this even an actual disconnect, or am I living in the allegory of the cave and I don't even realize that I might contain some uncovered self-hatred around queerness that I haven't unpacked yet?

" we deserved better all along". I'm not crying

This is such a lovely deconstruction of how the show does address homophobia, and how society treats queer people, especially queer men. Thank you for putting together such a wonderful video essay!

My brain is almost literally short circuiting from how beautifully summarised and articulate this is and my mouth was stuck in a grin throughout ! How does this have so little views !?!?!?!?! It’s so well thought through and thorough!

this was so lovely it made me tear up a little! i always want to push back against the 'homophobia doesn't exist in ofmd' takes i've seen for the reasons you described far more eloquently than i could. thank you for sharing this.

I loved that video essay, exactly my thoughts. On the topic of Izzy, I am 100% he is a representation of internalized homophobia. When I was watching the show I felt like he *knows* that he has feelings for Blackbeard, but he hates himself (and the whole world around him) for that. I'd love to see the background of this character to learn what made him like that.

“How unsafe it is to be seen” brings me to my knees. That’s been a fight my whole life- the being who wants to come out v the terror of being in the spotlight of not just criticism but hatred. The other wow for me here is “literally performing all the time/ ticket to safety. Must write about this

I hadn't thought about "You defile beautiful things" so deeply until this video. Everything about this show is so powerful, it struck such a strong chord with me and it has triggered such a powerful emotional response in me that even I hadn't fully understood. And if you excuse me I'm going to rewatch it for the 500th time

Yes, lots of good stuff here! Especially appreciate how you highlight the femmephobia as a key part of the homophobia. When I was a baby queer feminist in the 90s, reading "Homophobia: A Weapon of Sexism" was PIVOTAL in my understanding of how misogyny fuels homophobia. Haven't read it in a long time so it may be a little dated now, but I give it a lot of credit for deepening my understanding of sexism, transphobia, femmephobia, etc. and how they all tie together. And as a queer femme myself, I can't help but read Ed and Stede as a butch (or masc)/femme couple, with Stede providing the outlet for Ed to also not have to be so rigid about his own masculinity. UGH I LOVE THEM SO MUCH! Also, yes, Taika did in fact invent eyeballs ;-P

This is just beautiful, I couldn't quite put my finger on why I'm so absolutely obsessed with this show and I think you hit all the points. I'm gonna go ugly cry about it now.

gOD the way you contextualize this.... ugh I love love LOVE this video essay. You say so many poignant things here, and it really helped me find words for how and why this show resonates with me so much. Thank you.

Taika Waititi did invent eyes tho

"Our ability to hide is a ticket to safety" is a line that hits a bit close at my work place right now. I was so close to crying this entire essay (even though I've seen it more than once before but that line did it this time

Ah, I loved this video so much! Do not get me wrong for what I am about to say, but I kind of do not like Stede being "badass", not having fancy clothes, caring about books or etiquette, softness and all this stuff that a lot of people are expecting from season two. For me, Stede is a very soft, loving and tender soul, who, as you said, IS easily frightened and everything else that may seem as "weak traits", but I LOVE THEM SO MUCH! In the show they are not made seem as bad or cringe traits, they are just part of who he is - and who Edward grows to love, it IS part of him and it is so damn okay! It does not make him weaker, him loving comfort of fancy clothes and having fucking library on a ship does not make him stupid, it makes him... Stede! And do I love Stede, oh man! For the quirky way he is, for his uniqueness and charming features

I loved this and it made me emotional, especially the last line, and the part about what the fanfiction does for this community. Fanfiction played a huge, huge role in helping me get away from my strict evangelical upbringing, and in finally realizing I was gay in my 30s. Thanks for making this video!

Literally everyone should hear this analysis. Job hugely well done.

i genuinely cried while watching this. beautiful and perfectly to the point, thank you so much!

I really enjoyed this! Great work put into it

The way Waititi acts through his eyes 🥺 beautiful. It’s hard not to fall in love with him. He’s so brilliant.

After MONTHS of fic and tweets and tumblr posts and youtube videos, I thought I'd read/heard all that was relevant to be said about this show... but I was wrong! Love your analysis, lots of fresh material for me to think about! Excellent work!

Thank you-this was beautifully reasoned and presented. Love the way the show plays with stereotypes and their implications.

This is a great analysis! I don’t like when people say that the show has no homophobia. It does. That’s the whole context for both Edward and Stede’s character arcs, how eventually at the end of the story Stede learns to sort of except himself and the reason why Ed Falls back into the Cracken. I love both characters very deeply. I think it’s very interesting that Stede doesn’t really have the option to hide. He tries and fails. There are a lot of people like that. It makes for a great contrast with Ed.

This is the best ofmd video essay I've seen, easily. Made me want to cry just a bit 😭

This is wonderful and really put into words what a catharsis this show has been for me. Bravo!

Wonderful, wonderful writing in this. Great job!

I smell underrated channel

This is a stunning video essay and I hope people involved in creating this wonderful show see it.

This is a beautiful analysis of the show. way to go man.

This video is stellar, man. Wish it got more attention

saw this linked in the tumblr tag and i think its amazing!

Thank you so much for putting this into words ♥

Thank you. I'm tearing up watching this.

This is the kind of essay I've been looking for ❤️ Thank you

this essay made me cry :)

This is so well articulated…bravo!

Okay I'm cryiiing 😭😭

This video essay is absolutely stunning, congrats!

gave me chills. great video

Watched this again. Still amazing. Still inspiring.

im sobbing so hard oh my go

Wow. I’m a straight ally who is still learning about the subtleties of homophobia and I’m also a big fan of this show. I didn’t even catch all of these metaphors and ideas, and I’m really grateful that you made this video. This is wonderful.

This was such a great essay! So glad youtube finally suggested something good :D love how you analysed these characters.

what a beautiful video, thank you!!

this was beautiful, thank you!

This was absolute PERFECTION. So much so, I'm honestly speechless and the only other words I can come up with are: THANK YOU 🥰💖🧡💛💚💙💜

Beautiful video, thank you. ❤️

God I knew I should’ve not watch this video, now I’m tears bc you explain it so good, I love all the queer analysis of the series Now I’ve been staring at the wall for 5 solid minutes without knowing what to do, I just know I need a hug

A+ I will be sharing this.

Awesome video. Well done!

this is such a wonderful analysis video! i've watched it several times!

This is an amazing video essay

I loved this video and I’m not ok, thank you

This was so good

Awww. That was a lovely essay ❤

This was amazing, thank you

This is brilliantly done. Thanks for your hard work. I really enjoyed this.

I'm from the Philippines and yes my friends and I watched it. It is very popular!

This is an amazing and inspiring essay. I have rewatched it a half-dozen times.

What's also interesting is that historically many societies were fine with gay men so long as you weren't the person receiving because that was seen as effeminate and less than. The only people that could work against that were people of high status and that who were already respected, but they were still disrespected. Julius Caesar had a lot of propaganda against him that was very sexist because of rumors he would receive in a relationship. I think this might also be why Izzy is so mad at Stede and Lucius because he simply assumes they would be on the receiving end and neither of them is being shamed for that. The entire episode where he is trying to shame Lucius doesn't work because Black Pete, Wee John, and Fang don't care the same way Izzy does and don't see themselves as being taken advantage of by Lucius. Or when he assumes he is hearing Ed and Stede having sex he seems to be madder at the implication that Stede would be allowed to outwardly enjoy it instead of Ed simply taking what he wants. He prefers Ed or others being dominant and taking what they want...but when Ed and the rest of the crew actually see Lucius and Stede as people and listened to them he believes they've been manipulated. This might be part of the reason why they only take Frenchie and Jim with them because Izzy thinks those are the only two that can be saved from this manipulation and being effeminate. I guess in a way he and the crew are weaponizing Jim's identity against them and then are weaponizing Frenchie's quiet demeanor as well, knowing that neither of them would be able to return the ship to the "feminine" way it was under Stede's control. Also neither of them would be emotional with Ed which makes it easy for Izzy to imprison Ed back into his Blackbeard persona.

And Aziraphale will learn this lesson in Good omens season 3.

god this was gorgeous

beautiful video , thanks for that!!!

goodbye my freaking long ass essay comment in response to this video got deleted RIP however I do feel obligated to make a comment anyway regardless if the thoughtfulness of the original is gone. SO this video essay is amazing and hit so much about what I love about the series as a remarkable story on celebrating queerness. Like... it was THE POINT. The point was for Stede to realize that his love for Ed was beautiful and freeing and the point was for us to look at Ed's heartbreak and reaction to see Stede leaving as the wrong answer. THE POINT WAS that their queerness and romantic love for each other is what will get them to be truly happy! The fact that queerness is not a subplot but the main thematic core that threads through the story and its characters is still absolutely insane to me. well done bro. Again this video essay is awesome and makes me want to tear all the cushions. its really adding to the impulse of wanting to make my own unhinged video about it. Lots of love!!!

Beautiful!

Brilliant. Thank you so much. 💓

Oh my god, what a beautiful analysis of the queerness of this show! 🏳️‍🌈 I thoroughly enjoyed your take on the subject, thank you very much!

Excellent video

lol this made me tear up 👁️👄👁️💀

Commenting on my own vid cause there’s 66 comments rn and I don’t like that, ignore this 👍

brilliant

peak video

maybe I'm wrong and no one else thinks so, but I don't think Izzy is gay. He seems to me devoted to the image of Blackbeard, which he serves. Precisely devoted, not in love. I didn't notice signs of falling in love, except for wild loyalty, which is far from always associated with love. He's emotionally attached to the image of Blackbeard, not to Edward. He cares more about how Edward looks and behaves than who he really is. He is not at all interested in Ed's feelings, he is not interested in Edward himself, so I'm not sure that he's in love. He just wants to serve under the greatest pirate in history, which shows his arrogance, his self-centeredness. He wants to be on the side of the strongest, then he himself will be considered strong. But I could be wrong, and he may indeed be in love with Blackbeard, but so far I don't see it Anyway, great work and beautiful essay!

This is a tragedy .... So much acting talent and they blew its potential on gay... Gay gay gay... nobody....and i mean nobody wanted or wants GAY messaging....This series had So much potential and they will lose it all... mark my words.. go woke and go broke. Heres the deal it has JUST enough talent and comedy to get everyone cringing through 8 episodes ...Putting up with gay gay gay until the last episode. IT HAD SOOO much Potential to go on be the BIGGEST FUNNIEST COMEDY BUt they had to put in GAY and THAT writing decision...including pronouns and trans I predict will kill its ratings for a second season. Heres why ...all normal people who are dying for anti woke normal ...non gay comedy now have suffered through the first season and will not return to watch MORE (we now know) gay content.... there is a difference between one funny gay character acting gay and focusing on romantic gay .....that NO ONE wants.... But they killed the show with the woke gay romantic shit..... its a shame cause Ryse Darby was great