fashion in The Queen's Gambit (an analysis)

I've gotten a lot of comments about the diversity point I made. In my opinion, for a show created in 2020, there should be more inclusion of POC.

Cleo was apparently not in the original book, but they added her in. Townes wasn't gay in the book either, apparently. These are all things they rewrote for the script, so it would also be possible to add POC without changing the essence of the story. Even making Jolene a stronger character who shows up earlier rather than just as a "token Black best friend/savior" would be an improvement. Also, the best method for writing diverse characters without "tokenizing" them for brownie points is actually hiring POC writers!

I received some comments saying that a 1960s period piece doesn't need diversity, even though the 1960s was the height of the Civil Rights Movement. Even referencing these political events would've been more ideal than pretending they didn't exist, because in reality - these events were REALLY significant and it's actually unrealistic to NOT reference them. It's like having a "period piece" set in 2016 where none of the characters mention the election.

In addition, mainstream media has compromised historical accuracy numerous times. Do we really believe that women were wearing 21st century makeup and bathing regularly in the 16th century? Half the costumes used in period dramas are not even historically accurate. Why do we choose to draw the line at diversity when it comes to historical accuracy in movies/tv?

But even as I say that, POC have existed for as long as White people have existed. There have even been Africans and Asians in Europe for centuries via trade. All these people have storylines that could easily intersect with a White narrative if the writers tried harder. For example, Harlots is a great show that incorporates a ton of diverse, believable characters and takes place in 18th century England.

I loved The Queen's Gambit regardless. I don't think interrogating the media we consume or questioning how we can bring more representation into a story is controversial or cause for uproar 💛

i'm a little bit late for the convo but! when you pointed out that beth wore a lot of square patterned outfits i remembered her interview when they asked her which piece caught her attention first and she said it was actually the board :) maybe she was drawn to those clothes because of this idk

I would love see you talk about marvelous mrs. maisel fashion show

Liked a lot of this video but “second wave feminism was a lot about optics if I’m going to be frank”. Please say sike?? That’s really a pretty intellectually dishonest interpretation. I don’t understand what this recent push by pseudo intellectuals to make light of 2nd wave feminism is about at all. There’s so many rights and norms that were not established until the second wave it’s so was not only about optics and reducing it down to bra burnings with out any further exploration is bordering on misogynistic btw.

“She’s super condescending to Dudley Dursley”

I love this woman 😂😂😂😂

Kentucky is not Midwest, it’s Appalachia

Could you get away with not making an issue of the color of the characters skin call it a diversity issue. Clearly not. But we viewers are more enlightened than u give credit for. Especially since we are all aware of the segregation that was prominent in 50s and 60s. And especially with setting in KENTUCKY. Werent you supposed to focus on fashion. You should as it is a more obvious black and white subject for your brains lack of sensitivity of these times as well as well as lack of perspective. So as I do enjoy vintage fashion it is obvious you are covering up for your lack of fashion sense SO hence we suffer with your ignorance of the times and ergo the movie. You are just trying to sound way older than is credible. May I suggest Disney?

I think with Benny and Harry coming back to Beth at the end was because even if they had issues, they wanted her to win because they knew how good she was and they knew she could do it

They also probably wanted the USA to win for once lmao

I loooooved this series

I had to stop this show a few eps in because it was so clearly written by a man and the main character was so 1 dimensional. Wish someone who could write women had done this show and fleshed her out.

MAN should've watched this show sooner, especially when I saw this video before too lol

I feel like all the characters supporting beth so much makes sense. Like if somebody you know becomes the best in the world, at something you also love… i could see supporting that person.

Also jolene didn’t play a role for most of the movie, but i also feel like the bond, one makes, being at such a terrible place together in a hopleless (seeming) situation…

Yes it‘s not the most realistic thing ever, but for me it didn’t break the enjoymenet. I don‘t think she was bad to the people, she is an interesting person, holding to herself. People are drawn to someone like that all the time.

About the diversity point: as a mixraced (nigeria/germany) women, i agree that there could be more actor of color. But also i REALLY liked jolene. I felt like she was written by someone who could have been her.

As a relatively attractive nerdish female, I can confirm that men will gravitate towards you if you have interests non-girly interests...If you do not believe, join a politics club or some martial arts club.

All the characters revolving around Beth was a choice in storytelling. As you may have noticed, all the boys ended up falling for beth at one point or another, and were (in the lack of a better word) disappointed, when she wasn't the ideal they thought she was. When they realized that the image of Beth they had built up on their mind didn't match the reality, and that they had fallen for just an image, they left. However, their love for chess is what brought them together, and they knew how much this game meant for Beth. How the previous loss to Borgov had spiralled her down after Paris. And they respect the talent Beth has, and wouldn't want to see that lost with another downward spiral, that this time, propably wouldn't end. Her talent would be lost forever, and the Beth they saw when she played chess would be gone. All that would remain is the Beth that closed herself off emotionally from everyone that cared for her after the loss of her mother.

I cannot stress enough the fact that Beth is characterized as being a strong female character WHO IS ALSO ABLE TO LIKE “GIRLY” THINGS LIKE FASHION!!!

ahhaha not u calling him Dudley Dursley 😭😭😭😩🫡🫦🔫🔫

i'm confused at your confusion of everything

lol this is honestly one of the worst takes ever

This is one of your best videos! I loved it and now I appreciate the show even more.

The thing is chess back then was dominated by white men...so I guess that's why you just see a bunch of white men in the cast lol. If they casted poc playing chess that would've given the 1970's credit that wasn't deserved. 1970's didn't give everyone an equal platform in chess.