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thestray

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Posts posted by thestray

  2. Posted

    Dude, seriously, I think you're missing the point entirely.

     

    It's not about whether or not individual movies are historically accurate or realistic. Nobody's refuting that white people also played a part in the civil rights movement, and nobody wants to exclude them from stories. The point is that the majority of films about fighting racism are told from a white perspective. Have you not noticed that? White people helped, SURE, TRUE, but why are THEY always the focus of OUR struggle? That doesn't bother you in the slightest? You don't think there's a problem with these movies habitually representing black folk as too timid to do anything for themselves, until a white person comes along to advocate/inspire/educate them? You don't think the constant narrative of a white person's virtue in the face of anti-black racism is a problem, when there are scores of untold stories about black men and women who didn't wait for or need a white person to fight for them? Those black people don't get movies about them (not for lack of people trying to tell their stories either). Those black people are largely omitted from history books. Hollywood has a well-documented aversion to casting non-white leads. And you're sitting here talking about "It has a good rating on Rotten Tomatoes"? Who cares?

     

    I would not have a problem with movies like The Help if they were an anomaly. If the white savior was the exception, not the rule. I would not mind seeing a white person stand with black people if they weren't always the central focus or the agents of change. Like Shariq put it, all these movies do is enforce the myth of white superiority, because any time we see a movie about racism it's 9 times out of 10 centered around a virtuous white person, and makes it look like black people were just doing what they were told until the pure noble white person came around and changed things. That's just not how that shit went down, and if you don't know that you have a lot of reading to do.

     

    Here's the thing about historical accuracy. You can be historically accurate and still only tell the side of the story you want shown. That's called whitewashing. You can tell a true accurate story and still leave out all the important and meaningful details. It then becomes a lie of omission. We see movie after movie of the altruistic white man saving people of color, but what's being omitted are all the people of color who fought for themselves. And constantly depicting people of color as passive in their own struggles is a really problematic dangerous thing to put out there into a culture that already thinks racism is just a thing of the past, minorities are whiny, and white people are the true victims in today's world. Yeah, some black people back then were too afraid to fight and thought it better to keep their nose down, but is THAT what we need to see over and over again? A movie about black maids in the 1960's just would not get made if there wasn't an Emma Stone character in there to placate white Hollywood studio execs. It just wouldn't. That's not a coincidence, and it's not because of "historical accuracy", it's because it's the way people who decide what movies get made want it.

     

    It matters. The narratives we perpetuate matter. Movies perpetuate the narrative that white people are always the heroes, even when the fight is not their own. White people, and Will Smith.

    • Like 2

  4. Posted

    I love Case Closed, this was probably my 2nd favorite one (1st being the cyborg one obviously, haha). What you're doing is great Matt. There's nothing even a little bit wrong or unfair of bullying about asking someone to defend their position, in fact this sort of thing needs to happen more. The level of intelligent discourse in the world, and especially on the internet, is completely petarded.

     

    I'll tell you the reason guys like this backpeddle so easily, it's because the arguments they present have nothing to do with what they're really bothered about. These arguments they create are just rationalizations for the latent bigotry within themselves that they don't want to confront. This guy is homophobic and doesn't realize it. He sees Jason Collins being called a hero and it just doesn't feel right to him, and the part of him that knows hating people is wrong- as a defense mechanism- creates these weakass arbitrary reasons to make him feel that he's not really being hateful. This guy was desperately grasping at straws trying to convince not only you, but himself as well, that he has nothing against gays. Of course though any intelligent person can immediately see through that and see that OBVIOUSLY this guy has an issue with gays. Of course he backpeddles easily, because those arguments on twitter aren't his honest reasons for what got "under his skin". It's also super telling how often he tried to downplay the actor Jason Collins (or anyone today) coming out as "no big deal", really shows how much empathy he lacks for gay people.

     

    It's just ridiculous to see people act like they're just passionate about who is and isn't labeled a hero and that's all there is to it. Here's a great post showing Ben Shapiro and Tim Brando getting upset about the word "hero" being thrown around to describe Jason Collins coming out followed by examples of both of them liberally using the term to describe any person they like or agree with http://publicshaming.tumblr.com/day/2013/04/29 It's funny how important the meaning of hero becomes to them when they hear it used to describe a gay man.

     

    Keep it up Matt, I personally think Case Closed is one of the things that distinguishes Improv4humans.

    • Like 7

  6. Posted

    Well, like the bloggers you paraphrased said, it's another in a long line of white savior films.These movies all make it seem like black people were suffering in silence until a white person came along and inspired them to stand up for themselves.The Help, and most films by white people about racism, always frame white people as the hero or agent of change. They kinda make it seem like civil rights was THEIR idea, haha. When in reality black people started the civil rights movement and put their lives on the line and fought for themselves, and made progress, and their stories largely go untold because it's hard to get a movie made about black people fighting racism unless you can find a way to also make it uplifting for white people by putting a kind-hearted open-minded brave white person at the center of it. White audiences largely do not want to be reminded about America's past unless the get to see that "There were some good ones too!", ya know?

     

    The movie has some well-meaning messages for sure, and you can take something positive away from it, I personally wouldn't go so far as to call it outright racist because it comes from a good place, but it still kinda just reinforces some problematic aspects of how movies deal with racism and how black people can't even be the heroes in stories of their own liberation. I don't think the author was wrong for wanting to tell this story, and I don't think it's wrong to depict a white person as an ally in this type of film. I don't think this movie would've bothered people so much if we weren't seeing this white savior myth over and over again.

     

    Like, imagine if every movie about feminism had some dude at the center of it, fighting on women's behalf, instead of focusing on any of the badass women throughout history who fought for their rights. If you saw that over and over again it would start to feel pretty sexist.

     

    I didn't suggest the movie myself, but I'm GUESSING that's where whoever did was coming from.

    • Like 2

  7. Posted

    I know I'm probably in the minority here, but Team Traci all the way! The way she just started overusing other people's catchphrases like "my wife!" and "baby" was seriously cracking me up. And the "you can crawl in through my bedroom window and stab me all night long" was one of the episode highlights for me.

     

    This episode was already great, Wain was funny, Paul was amazing as usual, Wompler and Traci rivalry was funny, Mantzoukas is always great because he never misses a funny detail, but then when the Bachelor Brothers showed up, holy shit, that's when this episode had me crying. The Bachelor Brothers HAVE to be recurring characters!

     

    Oh, and I almost forgot, Scott himself was great! Nobody could do this show as well as he can. His instincts always heighten the insanity of the show. 4 great years of this podcast, and I hope there are many more to come. This is hands down the best comedy podcast of all time.

    • Like 9

  8. Posted

    I think in virtually all CBB episodes there's typically going to be at least one instance of somebody saying something you'd rather not have your kids hearing. Plus, all the episodes have an "explicit" tag next to them, so I think to be on the safe side just listen to them alone. CBB isn't really meant for kids anyway.

  9. Posted

    Sike! He was actually talking about Psyche, the Marvel Comics character also know as Mirage (born Danielle "Dani" Moonstar).

    tumblr_mcrlvq50Ft1ra4cwao1_500.jpg

     

    #DeepCut

     

    Never heard of her. SIKE! Of course I know about Psyche! I gotta go though, my favorite show is on, PSYCH!

    • Like 1

  11. Posted

    If there's another thread for this movie it doesn't come up with a search.

     

    Anyway, please do this movie. One of my friends was in it, he played Adam, the kid with the future-telling Game Gear. Not kidding. So I would get an extra kick out of it. Who knows, if he'd be up for it maybe I could put you in touch with him and he could be on the show.

  12. Posted

    D&D is a thing that never piqued my interest, but this podcast is definitely changing that. Hearing you guys adventures really makes me want to get some friends together and have some adventures of our own.

     

    I have to say Mildred is my favorite character, she's smart and compassionate but also a badass when she needs to be.

     

    Great episode, that cliffhanger was agonizing. Glad Sir Richard isn't done for YET.

  13. Posted

    Hmm, interesting - so do you think it was a serious episode because Marc Maron's IFC promoter people thought that'd be a better way to get the message out? Last time Maron was on they had a really fun shenanigan filled episode, and he seemed to be having a good time, so I don't think it's him that requested it be a serious episode. Or do you think a 2nd guest flaked out and this was Aukerman's way of making the best out of the situation?

     

    I didn't even think of it as a "serious" episode. It was one on one, but it seemed just as fun and loose as most episodes.

    • Like 1

  15. Posted

    I'm honestly super surprised that someone so offended by a weed paraphernalia shop ad has managed to be a fan of Improv4humans this long. With all the things that have been said on this podcast that just seems like such a weird and arbitrary place to draw a line.

     

    To each their own though I guess.

    • Like 2

  16. Posted

    Nicolas Cage is legitimately one of my favorite actors, he is never NOT amazing to watch, whether he's giving a great performance or a bonkers one, he is captivating. I always feel like he commits 100% to every role. To me he even some times improves shitty movies by being in them. A film that would normally just be unwatchable with another actor becomes amusing when you have Cage being his kooky self in it.

  17. Posted

    I really liked this movie. The minotaur rape and penis necklace along with Justin Theroux's performance are some of my favorite things about it. Whether you like it or not it really doesn't lend itself to HDTGM. Along with being a comedy it's a fantasy movie so you know there are going to be some what the fuck moments. It's also a movie that doesn't take itself seriously at all and has a fairly straight forward plot, so I really don't know what they would talk about. All the crazy, what the fuck moments are meant to be just that, so what would be the point in talking about them?

     

    If you enjoyed Pinapple Express and Willow I would highly recommend this movie, just make sure you're prepared for what it is which is a silly, fun movie that pays homage to fantasy films of the 80's.

     

    I also really enjoyed this movie! I think it's one of those things that's so self-indulgent in a really specific way that can only hope to click with a small niche of people. There are movies that attempt something and fail, and then there are movies that do exactly what they set out to and just aren't for everyone, I think this movie is the latter, so it's hard for me to imagine this as a HDTGM episode because what is there to really talk about? Seems pointless to make fun of something for being absurd when it's knowingly being absurd on purpose.

  18. Posted

    I have to watch the movie first, I feel like I enjoy the podcast better that way. At first I'd sometimes watch the movie after, or not watch the movie at all, but I've found that I enjoy the episode a little more when I've seen the movie and know exactly what they're talking about, especially for those "OH MY GOD YES!" moments where they say the exact thing you were thinking. Like JustinL said, it feels more intimate. When I've seen the movie I don't feel like I'm just listening to people talk about a thing, I feel like I'm "in on it".

     

    I'll put off episodes til I watch the movie, even if it's a movie I've seen before I'll watch it again just to refresh my memory. There have definitely been some movies that are hard to sit through, those I'll either watch with a friend and joke about them all the way through, or I'll just watch it in pieces throughout the week. Or sometimes I'll just put the movie on while I'm cleaning or drawing or something.

    • Like 1

  19. Posted

    I don't think their lack of knowledge of Street Fighter was a big deal. In fact, the last thing I need to hear are more nerds arguing about the technicalities of game-to-movie translations, especially in this sense.

     

    Haha, I don't know, I think learning from Gemberling how far removed the movie is from the game was another funny aspect of why this film is terrible. I don't think it's any different than when Paul cites some behind the scenes trivia to deepen our understanding of how bonkers the movie is. I don't think someone who simply is familiar with the source material HAS to be some nitpicking nerd, I think Gemberling definitely wasn't, and I don't think it made the show less entertaining for him to bring his knowledge to it.

     

    The more angles they cover the better the conversation I think.

  20. Posted

    This movie was the disappointment of the year for me, because it really seemed like something that was exactly my cup of tea. I love kung-fu films, I loved the aesthetic they were going for. Iron fists, a guy who turns into metal, seemed like it was going to be awesome. But this movie was so dull to me and RZA was such a terrible leading man. With action/martial arts movies I will forgive almost any flaw if it at least delivers on the action sequences, but personally I felt like this movie didn't even do that. The fight choreography was really mediocre and I didn't feel like there was any intensity in any of the battles. If this movie had a different director, choreographer, and star it could've been great.

    • Like 1

  21. Posted

     

    I have to agree with you as well. I enjoyed the episode but I was disappointed to find out no one on the show, besides the guest, had even a cursory knowledge of the game (and enormously popular game at that) the movie was based on.

     

    Personally I think it kinda created a perfect variety in the conversation for them to be oblivious to the games, and their guest to have knowledge of it. If they had done research we wouldn't have had great moments like June being completely confused by the concept of a Street Fighter.

     

    For future episodes I do think when they do a comic/game inspired movie that they should at least try to have a guest who knows about it, because it is good to have someone talk about how badly the movie fucked up the source material.

    • Like 7

  22. Posted

    I liked how all of Bison's soldiers were so easily knocked out with one blow even though they were wearing helmets. What's the point of that headgear if they're immediately down after one punch? Furthermore what's the point of even having guns if you're just going to run up to unarmed people and let them punch you?

  23. Posted

    I'm a huge Jackie Chan fan, I've seen almost all of his films, and this is definitely one of my favorites. It's intentionally over the top, and based on a manga/anime, and you can really tell they tried to make it sorta like a live action cartoon. The choreography and action set-pieces are pretty great, and there are some genuinely funny bits in it. This movie is super dumb in lots of ways, and there are definitely lots of what-the-fuckworthy aspects to it, but it's totally worth it just for entertainment value.

  24. Posted

    I saw it and liked it. It has a plot; a family has to journey through a new and dangerous land (and also learn how to abandon their old ways and embrace new ideas) in search of a new home/safety. I didn't expect much but I thought it was pretty enjoyable, and there were a lot of things I was impressed by purely as an animation nerd. I can see people who don't particularly love animation not getting into it though.

  25. Posted

    Man, I rented this when it came out on video senior year of highschool, and just couldn't get through it, I probably only watched the first 15 minutes before I turned it off. It was really disappointed too, because I was a big fan of Carvey and Waynes World, and I thought this movie would be like his Austin Powers. Still haven't seen this whole film, maybe if HDTGM do it I'll try again.

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