The title says it all, huh? My absence can be explained by a lack of time and a lack of ideas. Not to say I have any ideas now, I just miss processing in this wired, trendy manner. So here are so quick hit thoughts:
- Watched the Oscars. Jon Stewert is the man. Dolly Parton sung a Christian song, while wear $4 million worth of diamonds. To think, some people think Christians are too materialistic. Crash was an amazing and important movie. Proof that real world issues push art into amazing places.
- Seahawks resigned Shaun Alexander. Amen. Hope it works out better than the Sonics ponying up the dough for Ray Allen.
- I am too lazy to keep up with Fantasy Baseball, so what do I do? Sign up for another league! Take me away doc.
- Mariners on the radio, I feel so warm and fuzzy.
- I am buying comic books again. Budgeting only two books. Keep me accountable about this! (By the way, I am going to write about Multiple Man. The most intriguing character I have seen in any medium for a long time)
- I am going to be speaking at a chapel service at my old high school this month. A truly bizarre thought.
So there is a look into my head. I am going to try and write something more substantial this week. Thank Aaron for pointing out my lameness of late.
3 comments:
I think you might be purposefully pushing my buttons...
1.The Alexander deal shows why the Seahawks continue to be...the Seahawks.
2.Crash was a pretentious movie that was too busy being impressed with its over-the-top view of racism that it failed to actually deal with the subtle racism that we truly grapple with. To be enlightened further...go here.
As Turan said:
"I don't care how much trouble "Crash" had getting financing or getting people on board, the reality of this film, the reason it won the best picture Oscar, is that it is, at its core, a standard Hollywood movie, as manipulative and unrealistic as the day is long. And something more.
For "Crash's" biggest asset is its ability to give people a carload of those standard Hollywood satisfactions but make them think they are seeing something groundbreaking and daring. It is, in some ways, a feel-good film about racism, a film you could see and feel like a better person, a film that could make you believe that you had done your moral duty and examined your soul when in fact you were just getting your buttons pushed and your preconceptions reconfirmed."
Over the top view of racism? Not to discount you my friend, but I have heard or (as ashamed as I am to say it) uttered many of the statements of race that are presented in the film. I wish I could say that my entire experience with racism in myself and others was subtle and under the surface. However, much of it is up in my face. The difficulty that I had is that how easy I could identify people I know into Matt Dillon's character. I agree that subtle racism is an important issue that we all deal with and would important in a movie about race, I am just saying that sometimes overt and violent race tension also needs to be viewed.
The second response is this idol of realism that we have in our movies. Is it likely that in a 36 hour period all of these characters would actually interact. No. Is it likely that so many tragedies would occur to the same people. No. Is the response that Ryan Phillippe is character has a the end 100% believable. Nope again. Does that bother me? Not in the slightest. The movie took a very realistic backdrop, threw in realistic characters and put them into a lot of amazing coincidences together. The movie is big. The issues are big. I don't see the problem with that.
Last point. The movie offers no answers. I feel it doesn't because the movie is not a manipulative "how to fix it" film. It is an extreme, over the top lens into some actual problems. I felt anything but manipulated.
Pleasure doing business with you Jacob. Feel free to remind why I am wrong.
well, the key distinction then is the perceived quality of the characters. You found them to be relatable...I found them to be complete caricatures. I was not able to identify with the characters, because these people lived in a world where racism wasn't struggled with, they just blurted out their racist sentiments without any thought or concern. As the MSNBC article stated, I tend to live in a social circle that is paranoid that actions w/o racist sentiment might be perceived as racist - and therefore there are lots of struggles with the covert. Dillon's character? An in-your-face bigot. I would suggest that most people wouldn't identify w/ a cop that pulls over African-Americans to harass and molest them. So, instead, most get to feel superior and enlightened...because we "don't do that". That's where some amount of realism would help...because it might get a conversation started. Of course, we are having a conversation - but I gather it is not the intended one...
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