Warning: Discussion of gun control, war, and violence in this post.
I went to a screening held by the Philosophy department of a movie called American Gun a few weeks ago, and this past week my Comm Theory class watched Bowling for Columbine. So my mind has lately been on gun control, and the role of the media when we talk about it, and I decided that I would write up a brief post about it.
To be honest, I think part of our issue with gun violence is in the highly militarized and, yes, violent nature of our culture. In the US, I don't believe there has ever been a year -- just a year -- where we weren't involved in some kind of armed conflict with someone. Now, I could be wrong, but even if I'm exaggerating, for most of our history -- and currently -- the state has placed much of its worth on its military might.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Monday, May 6, 2013
Apocalypse Now: Colonel Kurtz, the Heart of Modernity, and What We MustLearn From It
I had to write a paper on Modernity as it related to what we were covering in my Western Civ class, and so had the opportunity to watch Apocalypse Now, in order to make comparisons between it and the book it's vaguely based on, Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness.
I have to say, the movie drags in the beginning. And the middle. There are some fantastic scenes -- particularly, the scene with the Playmates after they've gone upriver a ways. The women are topless, but it's not remotely sexualized for the viewer; the scene is meant to highlight the way the soldiers objectify these women, and it's disturbing and brilliantly played.
But the movie doesn't come into its own until Marlon Brando's first appearance as Kurtz. As soon as Kurtz becomes more than just a shadow that the protagonist is chasing, the movie becomes great.
Brando's performance is formidable -- Kurtz is a mysterious figure, and gives very little justification for himself beyond an empty, Modernist nihilism. He says that he's deserted into the jungle of Cambodia and built this tiny dictatorship because the men in charge of the Vietnam war are "insane."
The narrative of the movie doesn't treat anyone in it as a hero, which is refreshing to see, and it forces us to examine our perceptions of right and wrong, and what we think we know about violence.
I think it should be required watching -- though I recommend not watching the extended cut that I sat through -- it was pretty dull at times.
I have to say, the movie drags in the beginning. And the middle. There are some fantastic scenes -- particularly, the scene with the Playmates after they've gone upriver a ways. The women are topless, but it's not remotely sexualized for the viewer; the scene is meant to highlight the way the soldiers objectify these women, and it's disturbing and brilliantly played.
But the movie doesn't come into its own until Marlon Brando's first appearance as Kurtz. As soon as Kurtz becomes more than just a shadow that the protagonist is chasing, the movie becomes great.
Brando's performance is formidable -- Kurtz is a mysterious figure, and gives very little justification for himself beyond an empty, Modernist nihilism. He says that he's deserted into the jungle of Cambodia and built this tiny dictatorship because the men in charge of the Vietnam war are "insane."
The narrative of the movie doesn't treat anyone in it as a hero, which is refreshing to see, and it forces us to examine our perceptions of right and wrong, and what we think we know about violence.
I think it should be required watching -- though I recommend not watching the extended cut that I sat through -- it was pretty dull at times.
Problematizing Supernatural: 8x21 "The Great Escapist" -- Metatron, Storytelling, Free Will, and Responsibility
This was overall a very, very good episode. From the exceptionally clever social commentary of Castiel using fast-food corporate sameness to evade Naomi's minions to Osric Chau's fantastic portrayal of the different extremes of Kevin Tran's character, to the way Metatron talks about Free Will and storytelling being the crowning glory of it, the entire episode was brilliantly written and performed.
There is a discomfort I felt about the fact that Metatron is a middle-aged white guy who set up shop as the Messenger of God among Native Americans and expected tribute from them in the form of stories, but beyond that, the show even managed to be a lot less problematic that usual.
My favorite parts were Kevin Tran's scenes and the scene with Metatron. Osric Chau sells it, as usual, with his anger and his smugness and the fact that there's just this understanding that this kid can't be broken. Kevin Tran is a stronger man than many could ever hope to be, and he came by it by a way that's just as hard as the Winchesters' was. I have always loved Kevin Tran, but I have never loved him as much as I do now.
There is a discomfort I felt about the fact that Metatron is a middle-aged white guy who set up shop as the Messenger of God among Native Americans and expected tribute from them in the form of stories, but beyond that, the show even managed to be a lot less problematic that usual.
My favorite parts were Kevin Tran's scenes and the scene with Metatron. Osric Chau sells it, as usual, with his anger and his smugness and the fact that there's just this understanding that this kid can't be broken. Kevin Tran is a stronger man than many could ever hope to be, and he came by it by a way that's just as hard as the Winchesters' was. I have always loved Kevin Tran, but I have never loved him as much as I do now.
Problematizing Supernatural: Special Edition -- NJCon and Why Fandom and Jensen Need to Stop Doing the Thing.
So, today was the last day of NJCon, and it was the day that Jared and Jensen were at the con. I had honestly forgotten -- it had nothing to do with the Ghostfacers, so my level of actual care was very low.
"Not being heard is no reason for silence."-- Victor Hugo
Until the wank started.
(for those reading my blog who don't know what wank is, it's basically this: someone does something somebody else doesn't like, and that winds up making certain people upset, and fighting breaks out fandomwide. It's gross and awful and tends to wind up with everyone in the wrong, though not this time.)
Because, at a Jared and Jensen panel, a girl got up and did something super difficult for a lot of people -- she opened up her question by saying she was bisexual.
And you know what the crowd did, before she could hardly get any further than that?
They boo'd her.
According to someone who wrote about it after having watched the video:
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Problematizing Supernatural: 8x20 "Pac-Man Fever" -- In Defense of Charlie Bradbury and the Mary Sue.
You can be the King, but watch the Queen conquer.
-- "Monster" by Kanye West
I know, I usually don't open these reviews with song lyrics, but I feel like this quote is particularly apt for Charlie Bradbury, the central figure to last week's "Pac-Man Fever."
Charlie is, once again, everything I could ever want. She's a queer female character treated with respect and dignity. She's a strong female character whose moments of "weakness" are still utterly relatable. She has her own demons to face, and they're all pretty much metaphorical, but they are in the end the center of the episode.
It's been a long time since SPN focused on people, in the sense that we dealt with humans and their human problems.
But in this episode, that's central to the plot's resolution.
-- "Monster" by Kanye West
I know, I usually don't open these reviews with song lyrics, but I feel like this quote is particularly apt for Charlie Bradbury, the central figure to last week's "Pac-Man Fever."
Charlie is, once again, everything I could ever want. She's a queer female character treated with respect and dignity. She's a strong female character whose moments of "weakness" are still utterly relatable. She has her own demons to face, and they're all pretty much metaphorical, but they are in the end the center of the episode.
It's been a long time since SPN focused on people, in the sense that we dealt with humans and their human problems.
But in this episode, that's central to the plot's resolution.
Problematizing Supernatural: Roundup Edition!
8x13: "Everybody Hates Hitler"
This is a rather frustrating episode for me, because on the one hand: Dean gets hit on by a guy! And he doesn't shake the guy off with a pithy, slightly gross comment! But on the other hand: The guy isn't actually into him, and Dean also doesn't necessarily flirt back. I'll admit, my response to the scene at first was mostly, did that actually just happen? But it did, and it gave me just a dash of hope that the Show may actually out Dean as bi. I'm trying not to get my hopes up, though, because the Show has always been consistently gross about queerbaiting.
8x14: "Trial and Error"
This one is a little better, in that the main WOC in the episode is a powerful character who retains her agency, and, despite showing interest in Dean, doesn't become gross when he rejects her advances. Instead, we're treated to a metaphor of her masturbating -- dancing to "I Touch Myself," if I remember correctly. I'm quite pleased with this episode to be totally honest.
8x15: "Man's Best Friend With Benefits"
This episode seems to be intent on utterly negating the good things about "Trial and Error." Because this episode is all about a black woman who is the familiar to a white man. She literally wears a collar and turns into a dog. The Winchesters objectify her, and the climax of the episode is two white guys fighting over possession of her. She then proceeds to go off at the end of the episode with the winner -- her witch from the rest of the episode, of course. The hypersexualisation of Portia also means that she has a gratuitous near-sex scene with her witch while he is chained to a bed. A lot of the WOC I follow were grossed out by the portrayal, and I'm probably going to link to some posts in the next few days, so watch this space.
8x16: "Remember the Titans"
This episode...it was okay, except for one massive screwup with the Greek mythology they tried to use. They used a nonexistent relationship between Prometheus and Artemis in order to get Artemis to kill her father Zeus. They reduce the virgin hunter goddess to her relationships -- one sexual -- to men. Like, gross.
8x17: "Goodbye, Stranger"
I am still exceptionally bitter about this episode. Killing off Meg Masters is one of, narratively and representationally, one of the worst decisions the show has ever made. Meg was the longest-lived recurring character on the entire show. She'd been there from the beginning, was our first glimpse of what Hell was truly about. She was a mirror, first for Sam, and then for Dean and Castiel. She was the Old Guard of Hell, all about loyalty to the cause -- her father Azazel's cause, her lord Lucifer's cause. She believed in it wholeheartedly, only to have the mighty Plan fail, to lose her family and her God to the vagaries of Free Will. So, she adapted. She changed and grew. She was Crowley's opposition, the opposition to this new King who came from nowhere, who changed everything and inspired no loyalty and had no cause but his own increase in power. She fought him tooth and nail, and I had wanted her to bring him down. Killing her off, also, killed off the most developed female character we had. Once again, we have a victim shaped like Woman, and she's already a demon. I will likely always be bitter about this episode, to be honest.
8x18: "Freaks and Geeks"
This episode almost feels like an apology for "Goodbye, Stranger," in that we get the return of Krissy Chambers, the hunter's daughter from 7x12's "Adventures in Babysitting." In this episode, we see Krissy as the vanguard of the next generation of hunters -- a generation that doesn't have to devote their entire lives to vengeance. Krissy and her team have lives beyond the hunt in ways that the Winchesters never did. They're smart, they're fast, and they're up-to-date. Krissy is strong, and much more well-balanced than the Winchesters have ever been. She kills the man who had her father killed, but not with a gun or a knife or anything except her own mercy. And we don't see that, not in a culture of hypermasculine hunters. In Sam and Dean's world, you need to be physically powerful and intimidating. Not so in Krissy's world -- she's changing the story, and that? That's brilliant.
8x19: "Taxi Driver"
This episode was kind of a problem for several reasons. Reason #1, the first person to die is a POC. He was also a monster, so yay, double-othering again. Reason #2, Benny dies. Again. And he stays in Purgatory this time. Which means that Dean is permanently down a friend now, instead of just being temporarily down a friend through his own (grossly self-sacrificial) actions. Dean needs friends, needs people in a really consuming way, and so it's always bad if he loses one, especially one as good and uncomplicated at the core as Benny Lafitte.
So yeah, that's the roundup. I'll be posting a post on Charlie Bradbury tonight as well, and then tomorrow I'll put up a post on tonight's episode. I'm finally making headway on catching up with this project, which is excellent.
This is a rather frustrating episode for me, because on the one hand: Dean gets hit on by a guy! And he doesn't shake the guy off with a pithy, slightly gross comment! But on the other hand: The guy isn't actually into him, and Dean also doesn't necessarily flirt back. I'll admit, my response to the scene at first was mostly, did that actually just happen? But it did, and it gave me just a dash of hope that the Show may actually out Dean as bi. I'm trying not to get my hopes up, though, because the Show has always been consistently gross about queerbaiting.
8x14: "Trial and Error"
This one is a little better, in that the main WOC in the episode is a powerful character who retains her agency, and, despite showing interest in Dean, doesn't become gross when he rejects her advances. Instead, we're treated to a metaphor of her masturbating -- dancing to "I Touch Myself," if I remember correctly. I'm quite pleased with this episode to be totally honest.
8x15: "Man's Best Friend With Benefits"
This episode seems to be intent on utterly negating the good things about "Trial and Error." Because this episode is all about a black woman who is the familiar to a white man. She literally wears a collar and turns into a dog. The Winchesters objectify her, and the climax of the episode is two white guys fighting over possession of her. She then proceeds to go off at the end of the episode with the winner -- her witch from the rest of the episode, of course. The hypersexualisation of Portia also means that she has a gratuitous near-sex scene with her witch while he is chained to a bed. A lot of the WOC I follow were grossed out by the portrayal, and I'm probably going to link to some posts in the next few days, so watch this space.
8x16: "Remember the Titans"
This episode...it was okay, except for one massive screwup with the Greek mythology they tried to use. They used a nonexistent relationship between Prometheus and Artemis in order to get Artemis to kill her father Zeus. They reduce the virgin hunter goddess to her relationships -- one sexual -- to men. Like, gross.
8x17: "Goodbye, Stranger"
I am still exceptionally bitter about this episode. Killing off Meg Masters is one of, narratively and representationally, one of the worst decisions the show has ever made. Meg was the longest-lived recurring character on the entire show. She'd been there from the beginning, was our first glimpse of what Hell was truly about. She was a mirror, first for Sam, and then for Dean and Castiel. She was the Old Guard of Hell, all about loyalty to the cause -- her father Azazel's cause, her lord Lucifer's cause. She believed in it wholeheartedly, only to have the mighty Plan fail, to lose her family and her God to the vagaries of Free Will. So, she adapted. She changed and grew. She was Crowley's opposition, the opposition to this new King who came from nowhere, who changed everything and inspired no loyalty and had no cause but his own increase in power. She fought him tooth and nail, and I had wanted her to bring him down. Killing her off, also, killed off the most developed female character we had. Once again, we have a victim shaped like Woman, and she's already a demon. I will likely always be bitter about this episode, to be honest.
8x18: "Freaks and Geeks"
This episode almost feels like an apology for "Goodbye, Stranger," in that we get the return of Krissy Chambers, the hunter's daughter from 7x12's "Adventures in Babysitting." In this episode, we see Krissy as the vanguard of the next generation of hunters -- a generation that doesn't have to devote their entire lives to vengeance. Krissy and her team have lives beyond the hunt in ways that the Winchesters never did. They're smart, they're fast, and they're up-to-date. Krissy is strong, and much more well-balanced than the Winchesters have ever been. She kills the man who had her father killed, but not with a gun or a knife or anything except her own mercy. And we don't see that, not in a culture of hypermasculine hunters. In Sam and Dean's world, you need to be physically powerful and intimidating. Not so in Krissy's world -- she's changing the story, and that? That's brilliant.
8x19: "Taxi Driver"
This episode was kind of a problem for several reasons. Reason #1, the first person to die is a POC. He was also a monster, so yay, double-othering again. Reason #2, Benny dies. Again. And he stays in Purgatory this time. Which means that Dean is permanently down a friend now, instead of just being temporarily down a friend through his own (grossly self-sacrificial) actions. Dean needs friends, needs people in a really consuming way, and so it's always bad if he loses one, especially one as good and uncomplicated at the core as Benny Lafitte.
So yeah, that's the roundup. I'll be posting a post on Charlie Bradbury tonight as well, and then tomorrow I'll put up a post on tonight's episode. I'm finally making headway on catching up with this project, which is excellent.
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