‘This Is Us’ season 1, episode 13 recap: And vogue 

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‘This Is Us’ season 1, episode 13 recap: And vogue

" data-content="This Is Us season 1, episode 13 gave us incredible insights into the kids' first "grown up" birthday parties. Can Jack and Rebecca organize mine next year? " target="_blank">

season 1, episode 13 gave us incredible insights into the kids’ first “grown up” birthday parties. Can Jack and Rebecca organize mine next year?

Alright, so immediately after finishing this episode I was seething when it comes to Kate’s storyline. In this episode her doctor tells her about something that’s essentially a “fat camp” because she no longer wants to do the surgery due to her recent engagement. That’s fine, that works because I understand her motivation for wanting to still lose weight.

But then we get into this whole stupid love triangle thing that was even announced in the trailer for next week’s episode as “…a love triangle begins.” Seriously!?

The parts of the episode where Kate is actually trying to do things at the camp and almost gives up were great because it showed her motivation and humility. We all know how hard it is to motivate yourself to do things like lose weight or stick to a regimen so I absolutely expected her to falter at least once at this camp, but then she meets some douche at the stables.

Are we supposed to be happy for Kate that some guy convinced her to stay? Because I’m not. I’d rather she would have quit and left and kept her relationship with Toby stable especially since they

got back together and engaged. I’m all for relationship drama on TV but it’s only been thirteen episodes and this couple has had so many things happen to them it would have taken any other show about a season or two to pull it off.

In this week’s episode Randall and William’s relationship grew even closer, although to be honest their story wasn’t exactly heart-wrenching like the others. It was a relatively calm week for them, but a happy one.

William decided to stop the chemotherapy and because of that he now has a ton of energy (which I don’t expect to last ’til next week), so it was really great to see him bouncing around again. I don’t know what it is about William but every time I see him happy and upbeat I just want to give him a giant hug.

He’s so happy he decides he wants to do something he’s always wanted to, and despite Randall having a huge work assignment due he goes with William instead. Dying wishes are always a weird thing to bring up, or at least it is in my opinion.

When people who are actually dying talk about doing something they’ve always wanted to do I always get nervous that as soon as they do that thing they’ll pass away. Thankfully that was not the case in this episode, and we got to see William live out one of his dying wishes.

And he looked real good with those sunglasses, driving Randall’s car and sipping his coffee. Maybe we can all be like Randall one day.

Can we all just pause for a moment an appreciate the incredible romantic arc that this show gave Kevin? When the episode started I was all about him trying to win back Sloane because of the incredibly stupid things he said a few episodes ago and I was so upset that he was hesitating so much on whether he should pick her or Olivia.

Obviously his choice should be Sloane! I’m pretty sure that’s how we all felt. During this entire episode Toby was trying to help him pick a girl and express to her how he really feels and near the end he finally made his decision, but it was

Instead of showing up at Sloane or Olivia’s place he knocked on the door and some woman we’ve never seen before opens it. “Who the hell!?” I said when she came on screen. Then we find out this woman’s name is Sophie, his ex wife.

Apparently Kevin was married to this woman but their divorce was so bad they haven’t seen each other in 12 years. Kevin just celebrated his 36th birthday so that means he got married at the ripe young age of 24. For some, you’d think that’s a little too young to get married but then we get another bombshell reveal that Sophie and Kevin have been friends since they were 10 and that’s when Kevin started falling for her. Someone give me a paper bag because this cuteness is just too much.

With Sophie in the picture and the knowledge that Kevin threw a

themed birthday party for himself just to get her attention, I think we’ve all tossed Olivia and Sloane off to the side. Twue wove is where it’s at, people.

I will never, ever get sick of watching Jack and Rebecca raise their kids. Every time we get a glimpse of their past I grow and even deeper love for the entire Pearson family, and this episode was no different.

Everyone has to grow up at some point and for the kids it was their tenth birthday party. Instead of wanting a joint party like they have the past decade they each wanted their own individual parties, and Jack and Rebecca were kind enough to oblige.

It was wonderful seeing how different these parties were — it really showed us their personalities and how unique they all are, but it wasn’t so great seeing Randall with basically no turnout and Kate getting ditched for Kevin’s party.

You know what was great, though? Seeing how fantastic of a dad Jack is. His ability to bond and help his kids when they’re feeling low is nothing short but a God given gift. He was meant to be a dad and every week we get reminded of that.

…Which is why it was so heartbreaking to get glimpses of his funeral! The huge question the fandom has had was “when did Jack die?” Now we know that he died when the kids were teenagers but we still don’t know how. But that is a piece of information I’m more than happy to wait for — just give me more happy Jack first!

Tags: chrissy metz, mandy moore, milo ventigmilia, sterling k brown, this is us

More ‘Hidden Figures’: Heroic women of color we want to see on screen

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After \'Hidden Figures\', here are some women of color we want to see in their own movies

" data-content="Hidden Figures’ story about three African-American women who were essential in getting a NASA astronaut to space blew everyone away, dominating the box office and starting a very important conversation about just how much audiences have been waiting to see starring women of color on screen – and how many stories are left to tell." target="_blank">

story about three African-American women who were essential in getting a NASA astronaut to space blew everyone away, dominating the box office and starting a very important conversation about just how much audiences have been waiting to see starring women of color on screen – and how many stories are left to tell.

. The box office numbers are proof of that. So here are some more real-life women of color that we want to see star in their own movies. Not as victims in tragic and violent – though historically accurate – movies, but as heroines with nuanced stories that leave behind a legacy; ultimately, stories of triumph that showcase the power of women of all races, in all walks of life.

Anna May Wong was born in 1905 in Los Angeles, a third-generation Chinese-American. Despite the racist taunts she received in her childhood, her passion for movies drove her at a young age to take small roles in the early days of Technicolor. She became the first Chinese-American movie star, and the first Asian American actress to receive international recognition.

However, despite receiving praise from both audiences and critics, filmmakers didn’t see her as a leading lady because of her ethnicity. And anti-miscegenation laws (which were only ruled unconstitutional in 1967 –

is a great movie to watch on the subject) – prevented Wong from sharing an on-screen kiss with a person from another race. As there was only one leading Asian male actor at the time, Wong was mostly limited to stereotypical ‘exotic’ roles, rather than leading ones… and was even overlooked in favor of a German actress for the starring role of a Chinese character in

She was criticized for sexually-charged scenes with another female actress – Marlene Dietrich – in

(although by today’s standards, it’s hard to see what they were referring to), and rumors of lesbianism brought further rejection from filmmakers. But Wong was outspoken, and often called studios out for typecasting, as well as political issues and the rights and representation of Chinese Americans.

“It’s a pretty sad situation to be rejected by Chinese because I’m ‘too American’ and by American producers because they prefer other races to act Chinese parts.”

Anna May Wong’s story deserves to be told in a fitting way, played by one of today’s Chinese-American actresses, whose careers she bravely led the way for.

A biopic is said to be in early stages of development by Fundamental Films, a Shanghai-based company; although to mixed responses, as the lead actress is expected to be Chinese, rather than Chinese-American.

Toni Stone was born in 1921, in Minnesota. She started playing baseball when she was 10 years old, much to the disappointment of her parents, who wanted her to focus more on her studies and less on sports. But by the age of 15, Stone was playing for the St. Paul Giants, a men’s semi-professional team.

In 1953, she joined the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro Leagues, playing second base, and became the first woman in history to play professionally in a men’s league.

However, because she was a woman, she wasn’t allowed to change in the locker rooms, although she

asked to wear a skirt while playing for the sex-appeal. She refused. And not only did she have to endure the insults of the fans of her own team, and the hatred of her own teammates, but she was also an African-American woman in Jim Crow America.

But her talent was impossible to ignore. She appeared in approximately 50 games in one year, maintained a .243 batting average, and got one of her hits off legendary Satchel Paige. Her presence in baseball also helped open the doors to other female players.

In 1993 she was inducted into the International Women’s Sports Hall of Fame.

“I loved my trousers. I love cars. Most of all I loved to ride horses with no saddles. I wasn’t classified. People weren’t ready for me.”

A lot of sports movies get made – Hollywood loves the underdog that wins the game – but there hasn’t been a movie about Toni Stone yet. Her story deserves to be told, and it would be awesome to see this self-proclaimed “tomboy”, a hero of intersectional feminism in the 1950s, go against all odds and win a game which was reserved for men.

Sayyida Salme was born in 1844, the daughter of Sultan Said of Zanzibar and Oman – and a princess surrounded by riches, spices, and servants. As a child, she secretly taught herself how to write.

When her father died, a terrible dispute broke out between her brothers, and Salme became the secretary of her rebelling brother’s political party. Unfortunately, that side lost, her brother was exiled, and she was sentenced to house-arrest.

Confined to her home, she became acquainted with her neighbor – a German man whose window was across from Salme’s. They bonded, fell in love, and she became pregnant. He was forced to return to Germany when this was discovered, but Salme escaped in the night on a ship leaving Zanzibar, and made her way to Germany to join him.

Forced to forsake her Arabic name and Islam in favor of Christianity, she became known as Emily Ruete, the name under which you’ll find her work —

, the first known autobiography of an Arab woman. She wrote about the East and the West, their stereotypes and similarities, and her own conflicted feelings towards her culture, and that of her three mixed-race children, as she struggled to preserve both their German and Arab identities.

She later returned to Zanzibar twice, was forgiven by her ruling brother, and was welcomed by the population – although she continued to reside in Germany, where she also received the support of the authorities.

“I shall be pardoned if I question the right which Europeans take upon themselves in deploring the fate of a people as yet ‘unenlightened’, and their justification in forcibly imparting their civilization on the same.”

A film about Princess Salme’s life would give us an accurate and unusual glimpse into the life of a real Arab princess, and into how one very intelligent woman navigated both Eastern and Western cultures, both in love and politics, and managed to succeed in both.

In 1538, La Gaitana was the leader of the Yalcón tribe in the Timaná area of the Andes, in what is now Colombia.

The Spaniards were told to found a village in the territory, and began to meet with indigenous leaders to demand tribute. When their captain arrived at the Yalcón tribe, he refused to speak to La Gaitaina since she was a woman, and demanded to speak to the man who was nearest in rank – which was her young son. Out of respect to his mother, the son refused to attend the meeting with all the tribe leaders; and as a result, he was murdered by the Spaniards in front of his family.

Fueled by anger and pain, La Gaitana prepared a plan of revenge. She called to her over 6,000 people from many different tribes of the area, unifying them and organizing them into an army. At dawn, they struck the Spaniards. La Gaitana took their captain alive, had his eyes plucked out, and pulled him along by a leash from town to town until he died.

She proceeded to unite more tribes until she had over 15,000 warriors at her command, and led them to battle multiple times, taking the Spaniard oppressors by surprise when they were attacked in the night – often by weapons or tools of their own that had been repurposed. La Gaitana’s army was so strategically organized that hardly any man ever died – and if one did, he was replaced so quickly that even Spaniards on horseback were unable to break their ranks. In the end, she succeeded in pushing the Spaniards entirely out of the region for many years.

There are still too few movies about the indigenous peoples of the Americas, much less about their female warriors and their victories. This would be another movie that could benefit from close consultation with Colombian historians, so as to make it as accurate as possible, and give an appropriate rendition to an indigenous hero of colonial times.

Who are the three women pictured in the image above (which you may have seen making rounds on Tumblr), students of the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania – only the second university in the world to provide medical degrees for women – who received their degrees around 1885.

Anandabai Joshi is believed to have been the first Hindu woman to arrive in the United States, and the first Indian woman to graduate with a degree in medicine in America. Married at the age of nine, she lost a 10-day-old son at the age of 14 due to lack of access to medical care. This inspired her to become a doctor.

In the face of intense pressure to convert to Christianity to secure a place in America, and severe persecution in India for her ambition, Joshi made a public address emphasizing the need for female doctors in India and pledging to never abandon Hinduism. Her speech brought in the needed support, and she was able to travel to America to study.

Kei Okami was the first Japanese woman to obtain a degree in Western medicine from a Western university. She was an English teacher in Japan, married to an art teacher when she was 25, and the two travelled to the United States together. She converted to Christianity to be able to study medicine.

Not much is known about her besides her name and the fact that she came from Syria. It’s very interesting – what circumstances or ambitions brought a Syrian woman to study medicine in Pennsylvania in 1885?

The time in which these three women overlapped as they pursued their medical degrees, with their complex, painful and heroic backgrounds, would make for a fascinating story. Did they establish a friendship, bonding over their shared struggles? Did they study together? What were the complexities of not only being female students of medicine, but also foreigners in 1885’s America?

Not only would his make for a great film about female friendships, but it would also showcase all the ways in which different cultures can clash and bond, and how intelligent women are unstoppable even in the 19

century; even if it means traveling all the way to America to achieve their dreams.

Queen Nanny was the leader of the Jamaican Maroons (Africans who escaped slavery after being brought to the New World) in the 18

century. One version of her story is that she was captured in Ghana, and sold to a plantation in the Port Royal area, which cultivated sugarcane. Another version states that she was of royal African blood and came to Jamaica as a free woman.

She and her brothers Accompong, Cudjoe and Quao, fled the plantations and established Maroon communities across Jamaica. Nanny founded Nanny Town – 500 acres of land in the Blue Mountains that was strategically placed so as to make a surprise attack by the British impossible, and which was carefully guarded by warriors and look-outs with horns. Nanny Town raised animals, hunted, grew crops, and traded with market towns, and Queen Nanny led raids, burning plantations and freeing slaves. In a period of 30 years, she freed over 1,000 slaves and helped them settle in her community.

A movie about Queen Nanny would be a grim one, but an undeniably epic one. While many movies are made that focus on the brutalities of slavery, a female-led movie that focuses on escape and what comes after it, and the skillfully organized societies founded by escaped slaves, would be an empowering novelty.

The greatest female pirate in history probably isn’t a great role-model, but how cool would a movie about this woman be?

She’s been depicted as Mistress Ching, one of the nine pirate lords in

. But Ching Shih was a much more interesting person than that small role gave her credit for; and it’s likely that she was much younger.

She was originally a Cantonese prostitute who was kidnapped by pirates, and then somehow married Cheng I, who came from a long line of successful pirates. After their marriage, they united competing fleets and created the Red Flag Fleet.

After her husband’s death six years later, Ching Shih skillfully maneuvered through the complicated web of power and asserted herself as the new leader. She later remarried, after what seems to have been a very heated love affair with a fisherman-turned-pirate. She terrorized the China Sea during the early 19

century, and is said to have commanded a fleet of over 1,500 ships, manned by up to 40,000 people.

Ching Shih was known to have established very strict rules for her fleet – laws that, if broken, would result in very gruesome punishments. Many of these laws were to protect female captives from rape or murder.

A partnership with a Chinese production company would especially go a long way in ensuring that this is depicted in an accurate manner. An alliance like this one could make a worldwide blockbuster.

, a TV movie, but it would be great to see a film like this one in theaters, with the budget and audience it deserves.

Of course, there are millions of other stories of remarkable women of color that we would love to see on the big screen. These are only a few. But by calling attention to the stories that interest us, we can show filmmakers that there

We want to see more women on screen, from all races and all walks of life, both in America and in the rest of the world. We want to see our history given the care and respect it deserves, to give audiences of

races a glimpse into the stories that erasure may have tried to suppress – but that were too glorious to ever stay hidden.

" data-content="The rise of 'alternative facts' has sent the sales for George Orwell's dystopian novel spiking, as people prepare for the reality of a Big Brother government." target="_blank">

The rise of ‘alternative facts’ has sent the sales for George Orwell’s dystopian novel spiking, as people prepare for the reality of a Big Brother government.

Facts are indisputable truths. Facts are not subjective, measurable or up for discussion. In the words of the esteemed Merriam-Webster dictionary:

📈A fact is a piece of information presented as having objective reality. https://t.co/gCKRZZm23c

So when the adviser to the President, Kellyanne Conway, tried to press the narrative that falsehoods could be called “alternative facts,” people were understandably alarmed. Parallels have been drawn to George Orwell’s dystopian novel

, in which ‘alternative facts’ are employed by the authoritarian government (only in the novel they are known as “untruths” and “doublespeak”).

If there’s any good news to take away from Conway’s comments, it is that these parallels have actually led many truth-seekers to pick up Orwell’s novel — also known as

— to gain some perspective. The Washington Post is one of many outlets now reporting that the iconic classic has soared to the top 5 on Amazon.com.

Published in 1949 and set in the dystopian future of ‘1984,’ the protagonist Winston Smith lives under the watchful eye of a ‘Big Brother’ government that not only controls the actions of its people, but also seeks to have full commandment of their thoughts. Implementing ‘Newspeak’ in an effort to limit people’s ability to express themselves and instating the Thought Police, Big Brother has twisted reality to manipulate the human mind. And it works. It’s terrifying and necessarily thought-provoking stuff.

With the rise of fake news and the disturbing institution of a social media blackout for the Environmental Protection Agency, we appear to be heading towards a reality in which ignorance is openly being touted as a virtue. More than ever before,

seems like important reading, and we’re glad so many people are picking it up.

‘1984’ quotes on truth and facts in the age of Donald Trump

To get you started, here are 10 of the most important quotes from the book that present some scary and uncomfortable ways of thinking that we should never underestimate:

‘War Is Peace. Freedom Is Slavery. Ignorance Is Strength.’

‘He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past.’

‘How do we know that two and two make four? Or that the force of gravity works? Or that the past is unchangeable? If both the past and the external world exist only in the mind, and if the mind itself is controllable – what then?’

‘The Party seeks power entirely for its own sake. We are not interested in the good of others; we are interested solely in power – pure power.’

‘Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship.’

‘The masses never revolt of their own accord, and they never revolt merely because they are oppressed. Indeed, so long as they are not permitted to have standards of comparison, they never even become aware that they are oppressed.’

‘Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing.’

‘The choice for mankind lies between freedom and happiness and for the great bulk of mankind, happiness is better.’

‘The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became the truth.’

These scary quotes from George Orwell’s

should serve as a warning to all of us about the state of the world, and what future dystopian fiction truly tries to warn us against.

But it is not all bad — let’s remember this particular quotation from Orwell’s novel, and celebrate the power of facts:

‘There was truth and there was untruth, and if you clung to the truth even against the whole world, you were not mad.’

Tags: 1984, george orwell, George Orwell quotes, nineteen eighty-four

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‘Supergirl’/’The Flash’ musical crossover casts Darren Criss as Music Meister

" data-content="It will be a gleeful reunion on the Supergirl/Flash musical crossover, as Darren Criss has been cast as the episode's villain, Music Meister." target="_blank">

musical crossover, as Darren Criss has been cast as the episode’s villain, Music Meister.

alums Melissa Benoist (Kara Zor-El/Supergirl) and Grant Gustin (Barry Allen/The Flash) in the musical event. Humorously, on

Gustin played Sebastian Smythe, a member of a rival show choir who was romantically interested in Criss’s Blaine Anderson. Benoist, meanwhile, played one of Criss’s show choir teammates, Marley Rose.

alums, how could we not have them go up against another

favorite like Darren Criss?” says executive producer Andrew Kreisberg.

“We have been blown away by his talent over the years and we can’t wait to see what he brings to the Music Meister.”

I get to make my @UMich & @GLEEonFOX friends show their REAL superpowers on the @CW_TheFlash/@TheCWSupergirl crossover? 🎼Music to my ears! 🎶

— Darren Criss (@DarrenCriss) January 23, 2017

and was voiced by Neil Patrick Harris. Bullied as a child, Music Meister learned he could use his voice to hypnotize people to do his bidding. While hypnotized, Music Meister’s victims also sing and dance.

Despite appearing in this one episode, Music Meister has become quite a popular villain, so it should come as no surprise the crossover would use him.

Titled “Duet,” the two-night event will begin on the March 20 episode of

It will feature the musical talents of not only Criss, Benoist and Gustin, but also Jeremy Jordan (Winn Schott), Victor Garber (Martin Stein), John Barrowman (Malcolm Merlyn), Carlos Valdes (Cisco Ramon) and Jesse L. Martin (Joe West).

David Harewood (J’onn J’onzz) and Chris Wood (Mon-El) will appear in non-singing roles.

Garber and Martin have already had the opportunity to sing on

respectively, but it will be a lot of fun to see the remaining cast let loose as well.

Are you excited to see Darren Criss on the ‘Supergirl’/’Flash’ musical crossover?

Tags: darren criss, music meister, musical, supergirl, The Flash

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