quote:But in the wild, when they are stranded on the vast island of Madagascar with no keepers to feed him, he discovers that his friends are all conveniently made of meat. So he must learn to control his natural impulses and behave in an unnatural way to get along with others.
This is a valuable message, though I'm betting that the filmmakers had no clue how politically incorrect it was. What, are they really telling people that even if they have powerful, almost irresistible desires, they should learn to control them for the good of others? Hmmm. Sounds almost Old Testament, doesn't it?
Yes, Hollywood has learned the error of their ways. No longer will they advocate following any desires you might have that result in the killing and eating of your friends. Take that, liberal media!
posted
How about irresistible desires to drag political opinions into reviews of movies that plainly do not intend any such statement? I mean, this is ridiculous. Comparing gay love to eating people? I do not usually call people bigoted, but this is surely a bit beyond the pale of civilised disagreement.
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posted
I don't know that he was talking specifically about gay love. Could also have been about promiscuity, adultery, easy divorce, recreational substance abuse, or any of the othjer things that have in fact been glorified at times on movies and television.
But it did come across that way...
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posted
Well, the press jumped all over dragging political issues into their review of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.
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Taking the article in context of everything that OSC has written, it doesn't seem at all like it is directed only at gay love. It could just as easily be about no fault divorce. Everything you've listed is an example of behavior that OSC looks down on. He has often been frustrated with the way mainstream media portrays selfish behavior as desirable.
His review is very consistent with his expressed thoughts on how the cultural influence of storytelling flows both ways.
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posted
That's why I added more options, to show that there are plenty of morally questionable things often portrayed favorably by Hollywood and television, and that it wasn't (necessarily) an anti-gay-marriage rant.
The reason this stood out for me was because it seemed to imply Hollywood was heretofore encouraging murder and cannibalism and should be congratulated for avoiding it this once Posts: 7790 | Registered: Aug 2000
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posted
Ok, fair enough, I may be guilty of a bit of knee-jerking myself. Still, comparing any of the things mentioned to cannibalism is, I feel, to indulge in just a touch of hyperbole.
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posted
People do have a tendency to read whatever ideas they are excited about at the moment into whatever movies they happen to watch. There's nothing nefarious about it. It's like I learned in film school — a movie is made four times. Once when it's written, once when it's shot, once when it's edited, and once when it's watched. That last "making" of the movie is the one that has the most profound impact on the viewer, and it is the one over which the filmmakers have the least control.
SPOILERS FOR A MOVIE YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN BY NOW BELOW
Case in point — when Card and I (in different states at the time) watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, we came away with completely different impressions. We both loved the movie, but I came away most affected by the characters' decision to pursue a relationship despite the certain knowledge that living together would be a struggle. That was the moment and the meaning that had the biggest impact for me, and it was what I thought of as the main purpose of the film.
In Card's review, however, he came away impressed by a completely different idea — that human beings have intrinsic qualities that remain constant, independent of their memories. Why did he leave impressed by such a different point? Well, read The Worthing Saga. It's clearly an idea that matters a lot to him. So that's what he got out of it. I'm sure if you analyzed me, you'd find some arcane reason why the idea that impressed me had the impact it did.
My point is just, don't get so annoyed about this kind of thing. It's pretty normal. We're just such avid Card readers that we recognize his preconceived notions more readily than we do other writers'. But everybody's got 'em.
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You know the history of carnivors don't yah? Come on, does anyone read the Old Testament anyway. At first the world was perfect, no desires to eat meat all were herbavores. But then sin entered the world and carnivores emerged. Lucky for us most dinosoars are extinct. But I remind you that killing is a sin, and was not originally God's will.
It is naturall to root for the underdog when you know what the outcome will be for your desire for variety. Quote ~Variety makes life worth living, while Routine give you power~
posted
Hey, how about recognizing a joke when you see one? Sheesh, people. My review column is ENTERTAINMENT.
Posts: 2005 | Registered: Jul 1999
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All the more entertaining when we can hyper-analyze it to the point of ridiculousness.
For instance, I just thought Alex should eat the lot of them and have done. The only reason he became friends with his natural prey in the first place is because of the intervention of humanity (zoo, supplied meals). So what I took away was: Human intervention is bad! Save the whales and hug a tree! And let the lions just be lions.
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quote: Hey, how about recognizing a joke when you see one? Sheesh, people. My review column is ENTERTAINMENT.
Hey there Mister you really don't owe anyone an explanation.
It doesn't matter what you say or how you say it. Don't you know that by now? There will always be someone who doesn't understand it, someone who doesn't like it or someone who'll worship you forever for it.
quote: All the more entertaining when we can hyper-analyze it to the point of ridiculousness.
Just write and then write some more.
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quote: It doesn't matter what you say or how you say it. Don't you know that by now?
I certainly hope he doesn't "know" that. Because it's really, really untrue.
For one thing, the reason no one here realized the Madagascar comment was a joke was that it was perfectly in keeping with other presumably non-joking comments made in other columns.
In fact, OSC's response has now left me wondering how many of the really offensive things he's said in some of his articles were meant as completely meaningless jokes, and how many of them he actually believed.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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posted
I think the reason people did not just dismiss the article as "ENTERTAINMENT" is because in alot of Mr. Card's "ENTERTAINMENT" articles, he finds a way to express his political/social views trough his reviews or comments.
Oh and about people attributing political significance to the new star wars movie, i dont think that that is way off base, considering that Lucas has mentioned that he wrote the story with vietnam in mind.
Posts: 441 | Registered: Jun 2005
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posted
I am reminded of our esteemed Janitor's remarks concerning me :
quote:To some degree, though, KoM has made his bed and now lies in it. He hasn't cultivated in Hatrack the habit of reading his posts for humorous content, but rather for insult. And it's relatively easy, at least for me, to find insults and take them personally when looking for them in something written by someone in sharp disagreement. *sigh*
Replace "KoM" with "OSC" and it still makes perfect sense.
Posts: 10645 | Registered: Jul 2004
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quote:Originally posted by TomDavidson: In fact, OSC's response has now left me wondering how many of the really offensive things he's said in some of his articles were meant as completely meaningless jokes, and how many of them he actually believed.
There's a big difference between an off-the-cuff remark in a review of a lighthearted movie and an opinion on a controversial social issue.
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posted
I didn't see any gay-bashing in OSC's review of Madagascar. And I'm not going to! LALALALALALALALALALALA! <fingers in ears>
Posts: 89 | Registered: May 2005
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"There's a big difference between an off-the-cuff remark in a review of a lighthearted movie and an opinion on a controversial social issue."
Oh, I agree. But if you go back through his articles, you will find that many of his off-the-cuff remarks in lighthearted reviews of things are also opinions on controversial social issues. Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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It doesn't matter what you say or how you say it. Don't you know that by now? --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I certainly hope he doesn't "know" that. Because it's really, really untrue.
Anything anyone writes can be open to any interpretation. That's all I meant. Surely you knew what I meant.
quote:You would think Chris, of ALL people, would understand that!
I think I'll hyper-analyze and find serious political meaning in his next column..
I started to object that my follow up posts were intended to show I wasn't peeved, just amused. But then the idea of reading hyperanalyzed reviews of my columns intriqued me -- since I sure as heck have no clue what I'm writing -- so never mind.
Posts: 7790 | Registered: Aug 2000
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quote: But then the idea of reading hyperanalyzed reviews of my columns intriqued me -- since I sure as heck have no clue what I'm writing -- so never mind.
I think a hyperanalysis of your columns, Chris, would just reveal that you're a child of the '80s. Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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