Severance Is Interesting 27/05/2022
|
Is there honest journalism? Here's my list.
|
Will the second season live up to the high expectations of the first, or will it falter like so many other shows that start off so promisingly? There were many enjoyable twists and turns this season to keep you guessing where it's all headed to. Many of us have experienced feeling like we've had two sets of lives or identities between work and home. Some large businesses can indeed be run rather ruthlessly. The show feels fitting with this time of questioning the familiar norms of modern society. Is it really humanity that must change to suit a system, or should the system change to better serve humanity?
Superman Hatefully Violated By DC Comics 01/03/2022
Extremists in the corporate world continue to deface our strong male heroes, and to sabotage our popular myths. Our cultural identity is under attack, and has been for some time. Wish I had better cultural news to report on. We have to get our culture back. This is not a Left vs. Right issue. It's about cultural identity.
Read Bounding in the Comics report on this story here.
Superman & Lois: Pilot Review 07/03/2021
The pilot episode of Superman & Lois was the first TV show or movie from Hollywood that has stirred actual emotion in me since Joker (2019). This is the Superman I remember: a man who simply wants to be the best person he can be. A man who lives for his integrity, to feel he's made a real difference in the lives of those around him. Someone we all aspire--or should aspire--to be more like. Someone who reminds us what "good" really is. The Clark Kent/Superman of this adaptation is a simple, down-to-earth country guy with a heart of gold. But he's also a struggling father and husband, raising two teenage boys with the love of his life, Lois.
It's a simple idea, yet it strikes us as profound because of the immense breath of fresh air this show has to offer. I never bought into the concept that the real Superman was too corny for the 21'st century, that he has to be dark and edgy. Personally, I had no interest in watching any of the Zack Snyder Superman films. If I want to watch something dark, I'll put on a Stanley Kubrick film, The Dark Knight trilogy, or an episode of Breaking Bad. Superman represents something far different, something uplifting and inspiring. Yet the Clark Kent half represents, for me at least, something much more familiar: a man raised on old-fashioned rural values in a complex world full of people who don't always share them.
Perhaps we all get lost sometimes, but Superman represents something pure and eternal inside all of us, a fundamental good we simply call "humanity". This, we all know, is his real super power. The makers of Superman & Lois dared to make something traditional and wholesome in an age of snide, elitist liberalism. I don't mean to sound anti-liberal here, as I have both liberal and conservative aspects in my character, as perhaps we all do. Whenever either aspect becomes too dominant in our culture, it strangles the other. In turn, we yearn for the rise of its opposite. There must be a place for both liberal and conservative views in our world, and Superman & Lois represents a return to conservative values--which I think we all crave right now.
The show gives us a new glimpse of Superman: a husband and father. In a way, it feels like the spiritual successor to the 90's series Lois & Clark. Both characters have matured a little more, being parents now. SPOILER ALERT: at the end of the pilot episode, the Kents decide to live permanently on the farm Clark had grown up on. Symbolically, this reflects our time pretty well. Many people are leaving cities right now, or aspiring to, to move to rural areas to avoid the repressive politics and general chaos of big city living. But more than that, many of us yearn for simpler times, and to reclaim our core values, the essence of what it is to be a human being on this earth. Free but responsible, independent yet part of a community. The pilot episode subtly reflects this on a number of levels, but avoids being preachy about it (as preachiness is what everyone is tired of these days.)
"Superman & Lois" offers much promise in its pilot episode. I very much hope its producers aren't persuaded by crazy politics to ruin the good thing they've got going. Its second episode, Heritage, is a good sign they are staying on the right track. So is the fact that they fired an 'SJW warrior' from the show, rather than empowering her to sabotage it in every which way possible, as we've seen in several Disney projects in recent years. The show offers us hope in unhappy times, and I have hope it will continue on in the same spirit in which it has started. So far, it has a fan in me.
A Rising Anti-woke Artist 06/03/2021
Tom MacDonald is a Canadian rapper and former professional wrestler. His music videos strike one is having been made in a large-budget production studio, but actually he and his wife Nova make them together. MacDonald has been an inspiration for indie artists, and he's quickly growing a large following. His latest music video, Clown World, was released just last week and already has 3,696,091 views at the time of writing this article. Despite his quickly growing success, you won't see his work listed under trending videos on YouTube. Despite their attempts to censor his content for its anti-woke sentiment, this is what most people crave in art right now: simple expression of our confusion and frustration in this time of social hypersensitization. More people each day are growing tired of the politicization of culture and the division it aims to create.
The purpose of art, after all, is to bring us all together. We all bleed. We all laugh. We all enjoy music. Art reminds us not to take ourselves or each other too seriously because, all said and done, we all share in this flawed human experience.
Disney is Hellbent On its Own Destruction 20/02/2021
The Gina Carano interview was been released to the public. It's definitely worth a watch. I find it moving, insightful and inspiring. The future of filmmaking lies in Hollywood alternatives, such as with Ben Shapiro and Daily Wire. An incredibly large portion of the public desperately wants alternatives. As an artist and author who cares about culture, I have been saddened and frustrated with mainstream culture for a great many years now. It's time for a change.
Former Disney accountant Sandra Kuba is suing the company for being fired in 2017 after bringing attention to "accounting issues". Disney has been in financial straits due to issues which started years before the lockdowns. After making countless mistakes such as listening to a relative handful of noisy activists on Twitter and repeatedly attacking the actual fan base on social media, they've been forced to twice lay off thousands of employees and to twice borrow several billion dollars in recent months as well. Disney may not be able to afford the powerful army of high-paid attorneys the company has been known for right now.
Disney execs have chosen politics over business, and failed with their parks on a number of levels. They failed on the upkeep of their rides and kept over-charging customers, choosing to manipulate them through media and to silence customer complaints rather than respect them. After laying off a great many park employees while in financial straits, they continue to spite their customers in order to support the Twitter activists by investing money into redesigning beloved park attractions to be more woke-acceptable. Disney seems hellbent on its own destruction.
A Self-Destructing Franchise 12/05/2020
The "Dr. Who" franchise has been destroyed in much the same way as other popular franchises have been ruined. Filling the role of creatives with untalented activists who do not understand or appreciate the artistic property they are hired to represent is obviously a terrible idea. Fans predictably get upset and express objection to the drop in quality, and to the politics shoved into their beloved franchise. The activists—instead of apologizing and trying to repair the fandom—inevitably turn on the fans and tell them in no uncertain terms they are despised for not appreciating the politics over the low-quality material. Needless to say, when such toxic ideology is allowed to pollute a company to the point where the employees feel entitled to outright attack the customers, the company has become a self-destructing political vehicle instead of a legitimate and sensible business.
Clownfish TV is a wholesome-ish YouTube channel which has essentially been chronicling self-destructing franchises for years now.
The Winds of Change 02/05/2020
The Critical Drinker is perhaps one of the best channels on YouTube. He's crafted a drunken character to review movies and video games, much like Redlettermedia did with Mr. Plinkett. Critical Drinker even has a similar style of boldly laying out his opinions, saying the plain truth of how he really feels. Lately, he has discovered a very appealing new format: telling real-life stories in the first person, thus putting the viewer in the story, only to lay out the absurdity of the situation. He does this as if it's merely hypothetical, but it's actually all too real. He merely obscures the names involved to keep it 'discreet,' while displaying who precisely he is talking about. The result is highly amusing to those of us who know the story, or at least can grasp what he is telling us.
The man behind Critical Drinker understands what makes for a good movie or video game, and he understands the culture. Therefore, he naturally grasps what's wrong about political lecturing replacing quality content. Who wouldn't? It's blatantly obvious to most of us. But what makes Critical Drinker special is his wit and charisma, even when playing a groggy drunk character. He illustrates his arguments very well, and this is perhaps his greatest strength.
On a side note, I've shared more YouTube content in this section than anything else. The reason for this, I believe, is relevance. There is something about placing yourself in front of a camera or mic (which I know firsthand) that brings out your honest nature, makes you feel 'on the spot' in a good way. The world is watching--many people viewing you from many, many different viewpoints--so you are instantly aware how easily any pretense will be seen through. Besides politicians, lawyers and other professional liars, for most of us a camera helps to keep us honest.
Articles tend to be laced with pretense. So do 'professional' critics in TV segments--in which they often pander to political mindsets, as well as the film industry. Honest YouTubers don't care about getting invited to red carpet screenings of Hollywood movies, shaking hands and asking questions of all these 'important people.' They're too busy earning credibility while expanding their audience, which is working simply because they are honest. Hell, YouTubers today often acquire more information than the mainstream critics thanks to offended contacts on the inside leaking info to them, which almost always turns out to be 100% correct (even as the mainstream lies to the public that it is entirely false--until the film releases, that is.) Indeed, there are a great many people outraged by the treatment of once-beloved franchises, both inside and outside the industry.
So it seems that we don't need the mainstream anymore. Their lies, pretense and politics are getting old. Far more relevant to the times are YouTubers such as Critical Drinker, Redlettermedia, Overlord DVD, Rob Ager, Clownfish TV and countless others I could name. Even while Google/YouTube fails to see it, it's perfectly obvious to those of us paying attention that independent commentators are the future.
Update: One of his best videos yet:
On a side note, I've shared more YouTube content in this section than anything else. The reason for this, I believe, is relevance. There is something about placing yourself in front of a camera or mic (which I know firsthand) that brings out your honest nature, makes you feel 'on the spot' in a good way. The world is watching--many people viewing you from many, many different viewpoints--so you are instantly aware how easily any pretense will be seen through. Besides politicians, lawyers and other professional liars, for most of us a camera helps to keep us honest.
Articles tend to be laced with pretense. So do 'professional' critics in TV segments--in which they often pander to political mindsets, as well as the film industry. Honest YouTubers don't care about getting invited to red carpet screenings of Hollywood movies, shaking hands and asking questions of all these 'important people.' They're too busy earning credibility while expanding their audience, which is working simply because they are honest. Hell, YouTubers today often acquire more information than the mainstream critics thanks to offended contacts on the inside leaking info to them, which almost always turns out to be 100% correct (even as the mainstream lies to the public that it is entirely false--until the film releases, that is.) Indeed, there are a great many people outraged by the treatment of once-beloved franchises, both inside and outside the industry.
So it seems that we don't need the mainstream anymore. Their lies, pretense and politics are getting old. Far more relevant to the times are YouTubers such as Critical Drinker, Redlettermedia, Overlord DVD, Rob Ager, Clownfish TV and countless others I could name. Even while Google/YouTube fails to see it, it's perfectly obvious to those of us paying attention that independent commentators are the future.
Update: One of his best videos yet:
I've added a special page to celebrate Red Letter Media.
Joker Review 8/10/2019
Most Hollywood movies are made to suit an assumed ADD-inflicted audience. We're supposed to be so dumb, so impatient, so high on a soda sugar or an iced tea rush that we can't appreciate a slow, thoughtful film that dares to explore ideas and to make us think. Joker does just that. It puts art first. It doesn't care if you're disinterested or put off by heavy subject matter or violence. It hits you with its grim reality off the bat, giving its audience no choice but to accept the movie on its own terms. No choppy editing. No rushed pacing. No contrived DC universe or political pandering. Even the violence is employed sparingly. The main character and his story are all that matter here, judgment be damned.
The film feels like a very personal expression by filmmaker Todd Phillips, a story he felt needed to be told. It's raw and real, honest. This is what folks like me have longed for: true art in cinema again. Joker feels nothing like an office-ordered product, shaped by executives who threw in requests and limitations on the storyteller. It feels very much like a story conceived by an inspired writer, proposed to a studio, made by the artist and then marketed for what it is. To me, all films should be made this way.
When art comes first, the result is something genuine, something which truly touches us. My audience and I reacted quite a bit to Joker, laughing, gasping and uttering many awkward expressions of sympathy for Arthur Fleck. Joaquin Phoenix is an artistic performer (a 'character actor',) and his performance is captivating. I couldn't take my eyes off him. At no point did I love or hate him. No, I simply experienced being Fleck—both a sad and horrifying experience. When at last he becomes the Joker, I feel like I know this madman. I get him. Therefore, I no more want to see him beaten by Batman than I want him glorified. The film doesn't allow such expectations to take shape, for it's too busy unraveling this man and simply letting horrors unfold. Indeed, Joker is more a psychological horror-drama than a traditional thriller. But it's actually not trying to be anything: it simply allows itself to exist in its own terms. Like true art.
All that we see is filtered through Fleck's mentally disturbed perspective. Because Fleck's world is so brutally real, we naturally don't question it. But we are given a series of clues that all is not as it seems: Fleck imagining himself a talk show guest, or fantasizing that his neighbour has a romantic interest in him (when it later turns out she doesn't.) We learn his own mother is delusional. This implies that Fleck has inherited her madness. We are left to wonder what if anything is real. Was Thomas Wayne (Bruce Wayne's father) really such a jerk? Had Fleck ever appeared on a stage at all? Had he actually murdered anyone? Was there ever a civil uprising of angry 'clowns'? Moviegoers are left to speculate if Fleck even was the Joker at all. Maybe he's just some nut who's read too many Batman comics.
The whole movie ends up feeling like the last scene in Taxi Driver, where Travis Bickle is suddenly hailed a hero and the woman of his dreams now likes him (as if he's magically been given a clean slate.) Suddenly, all's right in Bickle's world. The only hint to the contrary is his final, creepy stare reflected in the rear-view mirror as the credits roll to disturbing music. Joker turns out to be a very similar film, but it takes us even deeper down the path of incredulity.
With a relatively low budget and no off-putting CGI to be found, Joker manages to dazzle us through clever photography, lighting, music and sound effects. It keeps our eyes uncomfortably glued to the screen in fearful curiosity. It makes us feel, makes us think and gives us an experience of cinematic art not easily forgotten.
The War On Art And Culture 4/10/2019
I recently stumbled upon an amusing YouTube channel which serves as a satirical Sci-Fi serial show of movie and storytelling criticism. Overlord DVD features an ‘evil’ galactic ruler called Dicktor Van Doomcock. Obviously, it’s all done with a sense of humour. But it's easy to tell that the man behind the mask is a serious writer, both from his displayed mastery of the English language and for his deep grasp on writing, culture and modern myths. Though his gimmick is hokey, his arguments are delightfully witty, combining intelligence and comedy. He speaks for those of us who feel harmed by the artistic debauchery of our beloved franchises, standing for the importance of art and culture above business and politics. Indeed, the politicization of film and comic books is an issue most relevant to his channel. In this video, he makes a dramatic case for the cultural scarring which this does. He also explores a possible answer for why it is happening, to at least some level of seriousness.
In the future, I 'm sure I'll have much to say on the issue of betraying artistic canon. There is not much I can add to the conversation regarding George Lucas and Disney’s treatment of Star Wars. So much has been said by so many. When a creator forgets what made his story work so well, or when a group of strangers take over a creative property and disrespect it, it is not just an insult to the fans but also a betrayal of art and culture. Myths matter in profound ways which even the mythmakers ourselves might easily forget or fail to realize. We must be true to what we create, or to what has been created before us. Our stories are a part of the fabric which is culture, which is us, we, this world. Art is language. It matters. It unites. It inspires. To tear it apart tears us apart in turn.
The Simpsons' Modern Identity 8/9/2019
This video examines the many ways in which ‘The Simpsons’ has lived on artistically through culture. The show itself has strayed far from what it once was. A lot of people (myself included) consider the first four-to-seven seasons to be the golden era of the show. This was ‘The Simpsons’ that I fell in love with in my youth. It raised the bar for comedy to such a height that, well, it made it impossible for me to find a true replacement. For more on what went wrong, I’d recommend this video.
Below is the video which examines the bizarre modern reality of ‘The Simpsons,’ which lives on in a kind of daydream limbo. For many of us, it was a big part of our youth and the town of Springfield, its residents and their adventures still exist deep in our subconscious. The original show was a witty, satirical and artistic examination of the modern family, stripping away the picture-perfect image of the American Family which was propped up by shallow sitcoms at the time. It was a show that made you think, made you feel, and most of all, made you laugh.
Superficial Heroes 5/11/2019
I just saw a video I would like to share with you. It's an interesting argument for the psychological purpose of superheroes in modern culture, and a little on why we need more grounded heroes. Why do so many grown adults like children's' comic book heroes so much? Rob Ager argues that it is basically filling a cultural void, in which more relatable heroes (which would theoretically be more preferable) are harder to come by these days.
Ager is a movie analyst and independent filmmaker. His website, called Collative Learning, features many intelligent analyses of films, exploring their psychological, metaphorical, and culturally significant depths.
Ager refers to even Nolan's Batman films as a kind of camp. I agree. For a long time now, I have referred to the older and newer Batman films as 'Dark Camp.' Stylistically, it's different, but if you strip away its flashy veil, you'll see that it's really just a more adult-pleasing version of camp. Fundamentally, the cheesy old 60's Batman series is offering its audiences the same hollow fantasy as the new Ben Affleck incarnation. The only real 'difference' is a veil of darker, edgier style. A grown man cannot be Batman. A grown man cannot learn from or be inspired from Batman in any way that will benefit his own life. This world is very large and complex, and without heroes to help tackle the challenges we fear or suffer through, we turn instead to escapist fantasy (be it with a light or dark tone.) We need more grounded, more relatable heroes to connect to.
Sadly, Hollywood is unlikely to change, since it's no longer interested in story ideas. It's become more about milking existing franchises. Of course, with all the modern media options available to the public, they have a harder time competing. The modern culture is also becoming more segmented, as different media target more specific tastes. Less people are going to the movie theatre these days, yet fanboy crowds are perhaps flocking to them more consistently, in loyal support of their beloved franchises. Escapism is easier to market and sell than a new idea grounded more in reality, especially when our culture is increasingly more segmented into specific sets of tastes and interests. Is it even possible to market a new idea to the general public anymore? I say it is, but this opinion will begin to seem rather radical soon, if someone doesn't break the mold.
It's up to the artists to invent heroes to appeal to audiences/readers/listeners of today's mediums. As an author, my mind has been on this very subject lately. I've began thinking up a new story idea to appeal more to the Millennials, to their general frustrations and state of mind. What heroes are there to represent their feelings of being stuck in an overly complex world without any one religion, role model, or source of information they can took to for beliefs or answers? I feel for them. They were raised by my generation, after all (Generation X.) The Boomers meant well, but they raised a generation of people who who are cynical about everything, resulting in over-materialism. We, in turn, have raised a generation which are even more lost. Not that this is entirely bad; change is a part of human existence, and there will always be rough patches when old ways of thinking break down.
No one can see what the future culture will look like, but it begins today, with artists. We must care, create, explore, and innovate. This stagnated culture needs fresh air to breathe. I think all (active) creative minds play a part in discovering how to break through the muck of soulless corporate pandering, to discover what awaits in the realms of imagination.
Sadly, Hollywood is unlikely to change, since it's no longer interested in story ideas. It's become more about milking existing franchises. Of course, with all the modern media options available to the public, they have a harder time competing. The modern culture is also becoming more segmented, as different media target more specific tastes. Less people are going to the movie theatre these days, yet fanboy crowds are perhaps flocking to them more consistently, in loyal support of their beloved franchises. Escapism is easier to market and sell than a new idea grounded more in reality, especially when our culture is increasingly more segmented into specific sets of tastes and interests. Is it even possible to market a new idea to the general public anymore? I say it is, but this opinion will begin to seem rather radical soon, if someone doesn't break the mold.
It's up to the artists to invent heroes to appeal to audiences/readers/listeners of today's mediums. As an author, my mind has been on this very subject lately. I've began thinking up a new story idea to appeal more to the Millennials, to their general frustrations and state of mind. What heroes are there to represent their feelings of being stuck in an overly complex world without any one religion, role model, or source of information they can took to for beliefs or answers? I feel for them. They were raised by my generation, after all (Generation X.) The Boomers meant well, but they raised a generation of people who who are cynical about everything, resulting in over-materialism. We, in turn, have raised a generation which are even more lost. Not that this is entirely bad; change is a part of human existence, and there will always be rough patches when old ways of thinking break down.
No one can see what the future culture will look like, but it begins today, with artists. We must care, create, explore, and innovate. This stagnated culture needs fresh air to breathe. I think all (active) creative minds play a part in discovering how to break through the muck of soulless corporate pandering, to discover what awaits in the realms of imagination.
