Thats still a movie about cartoon ass kicking. It would only count if instead of super hero redemption and celebration of power it chronicled Mr. Incredible's slow decline into cynicism, alcohol abuse, and baldness. The wife leaves him. The children resent him. He starts to get his life back on track, goes 6 weeks without a drink. Then a long day at the office followed by a bureacratic snafu at the MVA sends him back to the bottle. He's beaten and robbed by vagrants while pissing in an alley behind a dive bar. Hardly the stuff of childrens entertainment.
At least [LS1] sort of acknowledges that the shallowness of pop culture is an outgrowth of capitalist consumer economics. Thats a bit better than another meditation on why the latest Marvel movie is in some way #problematic.
Nevertheless I still wanted to ask the author what exactly she expects from art produced by billion dollar industries. Expecting Carly Rae Jepson or Taylor Swift to do a song about the complexities of adult womanhood is like expecting Captain America to trade in CGI ass kicking for the daily humiliations of a desk job in corporate America.
I've seen retrospective statements from Romero implying that there was some intentional political/social commentary in production but I've always found them kind of dubious, at least to the extent of there being a specific agenda. Like you (or as I read your comment) I think its more likely him and his team had a good sense of what would be generally subversive and used that to heighten the disturbing atmosphere of the film. Its a fine line that the best genre filmmakers (think Cronenberg and Clive Barker) figure out- working on social fears and tabboos without appearing to be advocates for a particular political cause.
I suspect something similar happened with casting Sigourney Weaver in Alien, again despite later comments from Ridley Scott suggesting that they knew what they were doing.
Replace Russian with Israeli, or even Saudi, and ask yourself if the media narrative would be remotely so hysterical. The only thing abnormal are the players, not the conduct (which in principle, I agree is terrible).
There is an argument that the type of jockeying for influence by foreign powers and other interests is corrupt, and part of whats wrong with our government. The problem in this instance is that no evidence has come out to show that the Trump administration did anything outside of the norm (drain the swamp indeed).
Nnevertheless people are right to be skeptical when all of the assertions are based on innuendo reported by sources that continuously discredit themselves.
Ive been consistently baffled by the media's focus on unsubstantiated conspiracy theories and gossip rather than focusing on the boring old incompetence and idiotic policy stances. Of course maybe thats just my own naivete.
The prog influence is definitely out there in the metal world. You can tell the Swedish melodic death metal pioneers in the 90s were prog fans (or at least sympathizers). The Swedes in turn influenced the new wave of American metal in the early aughts. Now theres an expectation of virtuoso-style guitar playing in quite a few subgenres of hard music.
CNN did the right thing but just like NYT and the Post they've hopelessly tarnished themselves with this big fat Russian nothing burger. Just like the NYT correction it shows that MSM journalists will still, even after 2003, hysterically quote any person wandering around Langley or Fort Meade without the least bit of skepticism or due diligence. Its really unfortunate because we need a functioning press and I'm not sure the traditional outlets are up to the task.
I think the article kind if got it backwards. Geography isn't the footnote, everything else is. Relative isolation has allowed Canada to control the pace of cultural change and avoid highly publicized government screw ups. Give them something like Merkel's idiocy with Syrian refugees or the periodic exposures of failed federal policy we have on our southern border and there'd be fuel for the fire.
I do think that sentiment exists, especially where the lesson people have learned from their own circumstances is that everything in life is a zero sum game.
I know most of the people who were involved in that discussion but I'm not going to identify them on a forum where I don't even use my own name. This was between friends and acquaintances from college in regards to a blog post one of them had shared. Sorry if I didn't make that clear.
You can easily make that point without resorting to the arguments and sentiments of those who support or refuse to consider the racial problems in our society.
I can (sort of) understand the 'I'll muster up sympathy when' sentiment. What I don't get is relishing the pain of others. Here's the link to the Ebony piece:
Its a major problem that the subgroup that talks most about privilege consistently fails to distinguish between privilege we want to end and privilege we want to spread. That article (and the many cruder versions of it out there) is what my right wing friends will cite when brushing off my point about why we should care about what happened to Philando Castille or Eric Garner or Freddie Grey.
Edit to add I think those friends of mine are wrong on the merits but I find it very frustrating when people I mostly agree with politically give them ammunition like that.
I think @damon is largely right with regard to rules to live by. People take risks just by entering these countries. That doesn't mean that whatever happens to the person taking his chances is morally acceptable but the decision should never be made lightly.
With regard to the whole 'privilege discussion' I think it just illustrates the racist, bloodthirsty, and religious nature of the intersectionalist left. They're no different than the Christian moral majority types that have been in retreat since the 90s, they just have a different creed. Anyone who celebrates this this kind of incident can't be taken seriously, and certainly not when they're preaching empathy for the victims of our own state's violence.
It brings to mind a discussion I saw on this issue on Facebook when Warmbier was first sentenced. Someone had posted an article by a black writer stating that this was a deserved consequence for white privilege run amok (nevermind it's since become less clear that he actually took the poster). In the ensuing flame war a Korean friend pushed back hardest.
He pointing out that Koreans are the ones who suffer most from North Korean policies, either due to being unlucky enough to be born there, or entering from the South to preach or locate family. Of course in the minds of those that write that kind of garbage, race (and only in the narrow way understood in some asinine American undergrad diversity survey) is all that matters.
I think the data point is too bizarre to draw too many conclusions from. I say that as someone very skeptical of the claim that there's a rape epidemic in this country, on colleges or otherwise (I know the story was the UK).
Maybe, as you alluded, we could learn something about how British law enforcement is approaching immigrant communities. Even then there weren't many details of how the accusations played out or how the conviction was obtained.
I don't really like the term 'hoarding' either. Perpetuation of self interest within an obsolete social contract seems more on point, but you know, clicks clicks clicks.
Which is exactly why I oppose means testing. If you really want to get into the reasons why we have the problems we do with economic mobility and this sort of weirdly unspoken and impossible to resolve class warfare in our society this is it. The 18-19% that still live roughly the American dream would have to take a big hit in the tax restructuring to make a more sustainable and egalitarian country but all the political momentum is against expansion of the welfare state and in many instances for gutting it entirely. If the only real choice is sacrificing you and yours versus FYIGM well... I think that's an easy call for most people.
I have no disagreement on pulling down whatever barriers you're talking about. Come one, come all. Granted I also chose to live in a still heavily working class Hispanic neighborhood (admittedly we are slated for gentrification) because I like easy access to the city and interesting dining options. Either way I'm probably not the one that needs convincing.
There need to be some serious carrots in place for that demographic to make it work. Income in that range does give people a considerably better than median lifestyle but getting there typically requires some serious student loan debt and living in the most expensive parts of the country, plus being ineligible for any sort of public relief. Obviously no one should shed tears for that group. Speaking as someone who is roughly there though, you end up a middle man between your employer and your various creditors, one corporate restructure away from the same shitstorm as everyone else.
Personally I'd be fine taking the tax hit but only if my student loans were discharged or 100% tax deductible and I was guaranteed free (or European style cheap) tuition for my kid. Some sort of socialized childcare wouldn't hurt either. But that's the reason it doesn't happen. Under our current structure you'd be taking more from people who are well enough off not to benefit from any relief the state offers but at the end of the day are only marginally more secure than middle middle to working class.
I'm with you on Griffin (even if I also rolled my eyes just as hard at the faux outrage). But she makes her living off this stuff, live by the sword die by the sword. It's the 'weirdly arbitrary' part that bugs me.
I looked up the Violentecrez thing and I get the argument for that. But there are a lot of vagaries in what goes viral. Slow news day and some boob 10 beers in gets caught on a cell phone saying something asinine or a parent having a bad moment becomes public enemy #1.
The up-skirt issue I think is a bit of a different thing, and I'm fully comfortable with criminal and civil penalties for it. I don't see it as much different than hiding a camera in a shower or bathroom and I think both laws and social norms can adequately account for it without being way overbroad. My primary worry is about sanctioning people with unpopular or unpolished opinions (or just stupid people for being stupid) writ large without much reflection. Of course I also think you're probably right that we are all living in a free for all for the foreseeable future whether I like it or not.
*Comment archive for non-registered commenters assembled by email address as provided.
On “Morning Ed: Life & Society {2017.08.03.Th}”
Thats still a movie about cartoon ass kicking. It would only count if instead of super hero redemption and celebration of power it chronicled Mr. Incredible's slow decline into cynicism, alcohol abuse, and baldness. The wife leaves him. The children resent him. He starts to get his life back on track, goes 6 weeks without a drink. Then a long day at the office followed by a bureacratic snafu at the MVA sends him back to the bottle. He's beaten and robbed by vagrants while pissing in an alley behind a dive bar. Hardly the stuff of childrens entertainment.
"
At least [LS1] sort of acknowledges that the shallowness of pop culture is an outgrowth of capitalist consumer economics. Thats a bit better than another meditation on why the latest Marvel movie is in some way #problematic.
Nevertheless I still wanted to ask the author what exactly she expects from art produced by billion dollar industries. Expecting Carly Rae Jepson or Taylor Swift to do a song about the complexities of adult womanhood is like expecting Captain America to trade in CGI ass kicking for the daily humiliations of a desk job in corporate America.
On “George Romero Made A Perfect Movie”
I've seen retrospective statements from Romero implying that there was some intentional political/social commentary in production but I've always found them kind of dubious, at least to the extent of there being a specific agenda. Like you (or as I read your comment) I think its more likely him and his team had a good sense of what would be generally subversive and used that to heighten the disturbing atmosphere of the film. Its a fine line that the best genre filmmakers (think Cronenberg and Clive Barker) figure out- working on social fears and tabboos without appearing to be advocates for a particular political cause.
I suspect something similar happened with casting Sigourney Weaver in Alien, again despite later comments from Ridley Scott suggesting that they knew what they were doing.
On “Ross Douthat Reads Them For The Articles”
This was a wonderful and hilarious take down. Well done.
On “Linky Friday: Lawyers, Guns, & Money”
Replace Russian with Israeli, or even Saudi, and ask yourself if the media narrative would be remotely so hysterical. The only thing abnormal are the players, not the conduct (which in principle, I agree is terrible).
Bubbles indeed.
"
There is an argument that the type of jockeying for influence by foreign powers and other interests is corrupt, and part of whats wrong with our government. The problem in this instance is that no evidence has come out to show that the Trump administration did anything outside of the norm (drain the swamp indeed).
Nnevertheless people are right to be skeptical when all of the assertions are based on innuendo reported by sources that continuously discredit themselves.
"
Ive been consistently baffled by the media's focus on unsubstantiated conspiracy theories and gossip rather than focusing on the boring old incompetence and idiotic policy stances. Of course maybe thats just my own naivete.
On “The Rise and Fall of Progressive Rock”
The prog influence is definitely out there in the metal world. You can tell the Swedish melodic death metal pioneers in the 90s were prog fans (or at least sympathizers). The Swedes in turn influenced the new wave of American metal in the early aughts. Now theres an expectation of virtuoso-style guitar playing in quite a few subgenres of hard music.
On “Linky Friday: I Fought The Lawd”
I remain a devotee despite Dan Snyder's best efforts. Watching them completely shit the bed on the Kirk Cousins situation has been brutal through.
"
CNN did the right thing but just like NYT and the Post they've hopelessly tarnished themselves with this big fat Russian nothing burger. Just like the NYT correction it shows that MSM journalists will still, even after 2003, hysterically quote any person wandering around Langley or Fort Meade without the least bit of skepticism or due diligence. Its really unfortunate because we need a functioning press and I'm not sure the traditional outlets are up to the task.
"
HTTR!
On “After Trump”
I think the article kind if got it backwards. Geography isn't the footnote, everything else is. Relative isolation has allowed Canada to control the pace of cultural change and avoid highly publicized government screw ups. Give them something like Merkel's idiocy with Syrian refugees or the periodic exposures of failed federal policy we have on our southern border and there'd be fuel for the fire.
On “Icons of a Fickle News Cycle”
I do think that sentiment exists, especially where the lesson people have learned from their own circumstances is that everything in life is a zero sum game.
"
No, not at all. We're so saturated in outrage that the 'someone is wrong on the internet' comic from 10 years ago seems quaint.
"
@doctor-jay
I know most of the people who were involved in that discussion but I'm not going to identify them on a forum where I don't even use my own name. This was between friends and acquaintances from college in regards to a blog post one of them had shared. Sorry if I didn't make that clear.
"
You can easily make that point without resorting to the arguments and sentiments of those who support or refuse to consider the racial problems in our society.
"
I can (sort of) understand the 'I'll muster up sympathy when' sentiment. What I don't get is relishing the pain of others. Here's the link to the Ebony piece:
http://www.ebony.com/news-views/north-korea-otto-warmbier-kinfolkkollective#axzz4kjgn9So1
Its a major problem that the subgroup that talks most about privilege consistently fails to distinguish between privilege we want to end and privilege we want to spread. That article (and the many cruder versions of it out there) is what my right wing friends will cite when brushing off my point about why we should care about what happened to Philando Castille or Eric Garner or Freddie Grey.
Edit to add I think those friends of mine are wrong on the merits but I find it very frustrating when people I mostly agree with politically give them ammunition like that.
"
I think @damon is largely right with regard to rules to live by. People take risks just by entering these countries. That doesn't mean that whatever happens to the person taking his chances is morally acceptable but the decision should never be made lightly.
With regard to the whole 'privilege discussion' I think it just illustrates the racist, bloodthirsty, and religious nature of the intersectionalist left. They're no different than the Christian moral majority types that have been in retreat since the 90s, they just have a different creed. Anyone who celebrates this this kind of incident can't be taken seriously, and certainly not when they're preaching empathy for the victims of our own state's violence.
It brings to mind a discussion I saw on this issue on Facebook when Warmbier was first sentenced. Someone had posted an article by a black writer stating that this was a deserved consequence for white privilege run amok (nevermind it's since become less clear that he actually took the poster). In the ensuing flame war a Korean friend pushed back hardest.
He pointing out that Koreans are the ones who suffer most from North Korean policies, either due to being unlucky enough to be born there, or entering from the South to preach or locate family. Of course in the minds of those that write that kind of garbage, race (and only in the narrow way understood in some asinine American undergrad diversity survey) is all that matters.
On “Linky Friday: Blood & Sweat”
I think the data point is too bizarre to draw too many conclusions from. I say that as someone very skeptical of the claim that there's a rape epidemic in this country, on colleges or otherwise (I know the story was the UK).
Maybe, as you alluded, we could learn something about how British law enforcement is approaching immigrant communities. Even then there weren't many details of how the accusations played out or how the conviction was obtained.
"
I don't really like the term 'hoarding' either. Perpetuation of self interest within an obsolete social contract seems more on point, but you know, clicks clicks clicks.
"
Which is exactly why I oppose means testing. If you really want to get into the reasons why we have the problems we do with economic mobility and this sort of weirdly unspoken and impossible to resolve class warfare in our society this is it. The 18-19% that still live roughly the American dream would have to take a big hit in the tax restructuring to make a more sustainable and egalitarian country but all the political momentum is against expansion of the welfare state and in many instances for gutting it entirely. If the only real choice is sacrificing you and yours versus FYIGM well... I think that's an easy call for most people.
"
I have no disagreement on pulling down whatever barriers you're talking about. Come one, come all. Granted I also chose to live in a still heavily working class Hispanic neighborhood (admittedly we are slated for gentrification) because I like easy access to the city and interesting dining options. Either way I'm probably not the one that needs convincing.
"
There need to be some serious carrots in place for that demographic to make it work. Income in that range does give people a considerably better than median lifestyle but getting there typically requires some serious student loan debt and living in the most expensive parts of the country, plus being ineligible for any sort of public relief. Obviously no one should shed tears for that group. Speaking as someone who is roughly there though, you end up a middle man between your employer and your various creditors, one corporate restructure away from the same shitstorm as everyone else.
Personally I'd be fine taking the tax hit but only if my student loans were discharged or 100% tax deductible and I was guaranteed free (or European style cheap) tuition for my kid. Some sort of socialized childcare wouldn't hurt either. But that's the reason it doesn't happen. Under our current structure you'd be taking more from people who are well enough off not to benefit from any relief the state offers but at the end of the day are only marginally more secure than middle middle to working class.
On “Morning Ed: Society {2017.06.14.W}”
I'm with you on Griffin (even if I also rolled my eyes just as hard at the faux outrage). But she makes her living off this stuff, live by the sword die by the sword. It's the 'weirdly arbitrary' part that bugs me.
I looked up the Violentecrez thing and I get the argument for that. But there are a lot of vagaries in what goes viral. Slow news day and some boob 10 beers in gets caught on a cell phone saying something asinine or a parent having a bad moment becomes public enemy #1.
"
The up-skirt issue I think is a bit of a different thing, and I'm fully comfortable with criminal and civil penalties for it. I don't see it as much different than hiding a camera in a shower or bathroom and I think both laws and social norms can adequately account for it without being way overbroad. My primary worry is about sanctioning people with unpopular or unpolished opinions (or just stupid people for being stupid) writ large without much reflection. Of course I also think you're probably right that we are all living in a free for all for the foreseeable future whether I like it or not.
*Comment archive for non-registered commenters assembled by email address as provided.