summercomfort (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
summercomfort) wrote2005-12-15 10:39 pm
summercomfort) wrote2005-12-15 10:39 pm
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So I was watching the Da Vinci Code trailer, and v. early there's this shot of whatshisname getting some self-flagellation going on, and I'm like "holy shit is that Paul Bettany?" And then throughout the rest of the trailer I was like "it can't be him because that guy's supposed to be big and scary" and "but it *looks like him*, although they're purposely trying not to show his face" and then at the end, there's Paul Bettany in the credits. Yeah, that was your Sushu=dorkus moment of the day.
Watched Boondock Saints today during dinner. It was amusing in the "omg lookit us we so hawt" way. There were definitely moments of clumsy directing for every moment of "omgtehcool", so I definitely see it as a guilty indulgence. But hawt Irishmen who speak 6 different languages makes up for the clumsy religious stuff and all the random awkward scenes.
Ooo.... X3 teaser looks exciting. But dammit, I hate the whole "NOW YOU SEE IT, NOW YOU DON'T! NEENER NEENER" thing that trailers do. Ugh, ugh, stop fading to black on cue with the music! This is not an AMV kthx. But yes, Beast looks pretty decent, and Angel = not bad. The monologue by Xavier about "because the fate of the many will depend on the few, we must make a last stand" is kinda interesting. I'm always torn between believing in democracy and the power of an educated populace, and just turning everything over to a group of socially conscious elites. Actually, come to think if it, this quote is v. similar to LotR, and y'know, practically everything else....
Here it is, transcribed:
"Since the dawn of existence, there have always been moments when the course of history shifted. Such a turning point is upon us now. A conflict between the better and worse angels of our very nature, whose outcome would change our world so greatly-- There will be no going back. I do not know if victory is possible. I only know great sacrifice will be required. And because the fate of many will depend on a few, we must make a last stand."
.... yup, that's pretty LotR. Well, pretty universal generally. Civil War, etc. What is viewed by the participants as a turning point in history, a human-based conflict, the need for a Last Stand. It's like the oldest story in the book. At yet we keep coming back to it. Do we want to feel we're one of "the few"? Or do we just want to have the faith in "the few"? I like the X-Men movies, I really do. They're actually well, written. To be coherent and realistic and not clear-cut good/evil. I'm hoping this one will be, too.
Superman, on the other hand, is hard to do well. Because he's ... well, not stupid, but comes from a different era. I think what annoys me about him is that he's from a different planet. Can he appeal to any germ of common humanity? That trailer is all about "you must set an example for the people" Mr. Perfect is supposed to inspire us all to want to be Superman. I think I prefer the Iron Giant. (Nope, no prejudice here at all.)
Watched Boondock Saints today during dinner. It was amusing in the "omg lookit us we so hawt" way. There were definitely moments of clumsy directing for every moment of "omgtehcool", so I definitely see it as a guilty indulgence. But hawt Irishmen who speak 6 different languages makes up for the clumsy religious stuff and all the random awkward scenes.
Ooo.... X3 teaser looks exciting. But dammit, I hate the whole "NOW YOU SEE IT, NOW YOU DON'T! NEENER NEENER" thing that trailers do. Ugh, ugh, stop fading to black on cue with the music! This is not an AMV kthx. But yes, Beast looks pretty decent, and Angel = not bad. The monologue by Xavier about "because the fate of the many will depend on the few, we must make a last stand" is kinda interesting. I'm always torn between believing in democracy and the power of an educated populace, and just turning everything over to a group of socially conscious elites. Actually, come to think if it, this quote is v. similar to LotR, and y'know, practically everything else....
Here it is, transcribed:
"Since the dawn of existence, there have always been moments when the course of history shifted. Such a turning point is upon us now. A conflict between the better and worse angels of our very nature, whose outcome would change our world so greatly-- There will be no going back. I do not know if victory is possible. I only know great sacrifice will be required. And because the fate of many will depend on a few, we must make a last stand."
.... yup, that's pretty LotR. Well, pretty universal generally. Civil War, etc. What is viewed by the participants as a turning point in history, a human-based conflict, the need for a Last Stand. It's like the oldest story in the book. At yet we keep coming back to it. Do we want to feel we're one of "the few"? Or do we just want to have the faith in "the few"? I like the X-Men movies, I really do. They're actually well, written. To be coherent and realistic and not clear-cut good/evil. I'm hoping this one will be, too.
Superman, on the other hand, is hard to do well. Because he's ... well, not stupid, but comes from a different era. I think what annoys me about him is that he's from a different planet. Can he appeal to any germ of common humanity? That trailer is all about "you must set an example for the people" Mr. Perfect is supposed to inspire us all to want to be Superman. I think I prefer the Iron Giant. (Nope, no prejudice here at all.)
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DO you watch the boondocks?
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i am replying
Ah, I feel so special to be blessed with an email from Sushu. How unexpected! My life is fulfilled. Alright, at least it's not a completely mass email. It's cut and pasted mass email but hey, you put effort into the cutting and pasting, and I thank you so much.
The intelligence demos argument has pretty much what Martin and I talk about all the time. Theoretically, we both think the intelligence demos exists, it's just we have a hard time justifying our faith so I enjoy playing the devil's advocate and telling him that people are stupid and he should just give up with democracy idea and allow the global elite to take care of everything, and do it right.
My favorite response to this I guess is Jefferson's intellectual aristocracy. John Wintrop, America, city on the hill idea, but take out of biblical context. America, unlike the old world, said Jefferson, should be ruled by the intellectual aristocracy. But the thing with the intellectual aristocracy is that it's not determined by birth, but by aptitude. So you educate everyone because anyone can be part of this intellectual aristocracy. I know we all want to be part of something special, this band of brothers (Henry V), and that's why things like LOTR and XMen really resounds in our collective subconscious. But I guess it all comes back to Mill and not knowing whether or not you're right. Sure, we think we're pretty smart but what if we're wrong. And what if the masses are right? What if we're just as dumb as the masses? What if we think this is what they want but it's not actually what they want? What if we're just being patronizing? I'm sure many of the whites colonizing the new world and Africa thought they were putting those countries right. They were the elite after all.
I think people all think they are standing at the crossroads of history because they are. Every moment, the world reinvents itself. Every little act becomes a cornerstone of history. History is ultimately a path-dependent entity. Every act shuts off several paths and opens others. A few people always determine the fate of the world. That is the legacy of any kind of hierarchical society, even in the kinds of communism we've seen. It'd be nice if history was as clean as neat as lord of the rings, but unfortunately, it's not. What people believe in their hearts to be right can actually be totally wrong. Well what do we do? Well, Satre (I hope you're reading No Exit) suggests that we should choose and take responsibility. I like that idea. I could be wrong, and I will have to take responsibility for those wrongs. Not acting in action as well, it's not a crime of commission but a crime of omission.
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On the other hand, I did terribly like the tv series "Lois and Clark"
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I would like to thank you for reminding me of a conversation back in the frosty eves of my youth when Julian weighed the relative moral valuation systems of east and west by comparing Superman with Goku from Dragonball Z.
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I think our need to be a part of the few is because we have a need to be remembered by history - it's one way we can ease the idea of dying someday. It's very romantic to be remembered as one of the few who helped change the world. That's why you'll hear that speech at just about every extreme moment in history - it's a great way to motivate people. In a way I guess we want to be one of the few, but if we can't, we can at least support the few so we can feel like we were part of it. Everyone loves telling "man I was therrrrre" stories!
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And something must be said for the first half of the movie, where it's just those two being unbelievably hot. And there's the nice deleted scene which involves their mom calling while they're undressed in their flat.
ramble
I read in one of my class readers that Superman's creators were Jewish Imigrants. That could be a reason why he was an alien. To show the kindhearted outsider in a subversive sort of way. The book was all about magic and fantasy in American subculture vs. rationality in American High Culture. Which could be another way of seeing the Superman Batman difference. Superman is sort of magical and inexplainable and alien, whereas Batman, well we can see the science of all his gadgets. Superman is fiction/god whereas Batman is science/human.
Yet Batman still becomes the myth and the symbol, even with his understructures of scientific gadgets.
But then there are X-Men, who are not aliens, but they still are fantastic in their way.
I think you might like this site. I'm pretty sure they are real comics, and they show a different side to Superman
http://www.superdickery.com/dick/2.html
I think people don't realise how strange comics used to be. Like things that don't really make sense. They had this really awesome "This american life" that I heard on failed superhero brands. The one hero I remember was "Mr. Parts" His super power was to fly into separate parts. Like arms and legs and head all separated. That was it. So when he confronted a villain, he just kind of fell to pieces and did nothing.
IThose are some interesting thoughts about LOTR and the X-men hero movies, what would their political stance be? Maybe tho the few are all that can be portrayed in a two hour movie. We can't identify with the many anyway, because we are only one. But I still think there is room for discussion there.
Re: ramble
Re: ramble
But I see what you mean about comics being the excapist absurd. Hmmm... What I really liked about the X-Men movies is that they're a shade of reality. Like Bobby's "coming out" scene, or the moderates vs extremists, and Wolverine's redemption. So maybe what I'm liking are not the comic books, but the movies adaptations made by enlightened directors and screenwriters.
In a way, movies are all about personal experience. There's no way to do a survey of the masses in a movie because watching movies is an individual experience and the point of movies is allowing the individual to live briefly in the world presented on screen. We expect personal stories when we go to the movies.
(With comic books, on the other hand, it started out as a fantasy world. There's no way 8 colors on crappy paper can properly simulate the real world. So we have superheroes in over-bright costumes with over-bright personalities. There is, however, a move towards realism (but not reality) and "serious" stuff in the 80's. Even so, with comics it's more about the panel progression. You do not directly enter the world, but see it pass by in little sequential frames. Another reason why Sin City did not work as a movie)
So yes, movies are about personal stuff, but also exciting stuff. Extraordinary lives, or at least extraordinary responsibilities that then somehow connect to the everyman. And so, everyone is "the few". It's just like when you read Mill, you always side with the minority voice, the one that challenges the majority, because we value individualism. Or sense of ego kinda prevents it from being otherwise.