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Flangepart
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
2329 Posts |
 Posted - 01/22/2010 : 08:05:15 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by BradH812
If Marxism is the opiate of the grad student, is Groucho Marxism the opiate of the wisecracker?
Normaly, I'd never join a club that would have me as a member, but as a Groucho Marxist, I believe everyone should have a house, a car, and a tub of duck soup for dinner as they sit in their horsefeather stuffed chair,enjoying a night at the opera watching overstuffed divas yodel till the cows come home.
And when they do, I'll bolt the door and bolt out the window. Have cows in my living room?
The idea. I'd horsewhip you if I had a horse.
And if you had a horse, I'd call, a shrink, cause you have bigger problems then I do, bub.
"Vulcans : The designated drivers of the universe."
"Hoody Hoo, i waste 'em with my cross bow!" Bob Herzog- KODT
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Edited by - Flangepart on 01/22/2010 08:06:12 AM |
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Asta Kask
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Sweden
263 Posts |
Posted - 01/22/2010 : 08:18:47 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Ericb
quote:
Can I just add that as someone who could be labeled as a "Liberal Progressive", I know of NO ONE who has an affection for the Khmer Rouge or the Taliban
Nor have I, and that includes time in a Marxist infested English grad school dept.
"Marxism is the opiate of the grad student."
We have them in Sweden. Or..., them, it's more like "him". Google Jan Myrdal.
- Who is John Galt? - |
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Paul LoJ
Supreme Potentate
USA
420 Posts |
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Neville
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Spain
1590 Posts |
Posted - 01/22/2010 : 1:37:21 PM
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C'on. It's a frigging popcorn movie! I'm surprised the same people didn't claim Spiderman was pro-Communist. I mean, it's a guy in a red costume that goes around helping the weak, and J. J. Jamieson it's a parody of the American businessman. And we all know what happened when Spidey tried to use his powers for a profit.
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Flangepart
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
2329 Posts |
Posted - 01/25/2010 : 07:51:42 AM
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Aw. common Nev, you cute little euro-socialist you.
Seriously though, Hollywood has a group think, just like any large group. They develouped it over a long span of time, and now its the 'establishment philosophy' therein.
Nothing unusual, really.
Everyone has a bias, I just prefer they say it out loud and quit pretending they are perfectly objective.
I'm not, though I try to be. But complexity is the stuff of human life, and when you try to symplify by 'ideological force', it breaks. And the splinters cut deep, no matter who's force caused the breakage.
"Vulcans : The designated drivers of the universe."
"Hoody Hoo, i waste 'em with my cross bow!" Bob Herzog- KODT
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Culfy
Preeminent Apostolic Prelate of the Discipleship of Jabootu
United Kingdom
113 Posts |
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Food
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
342 Posts |
Posted - 01/25/2010 : 5:50:08 PM
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| On the Rambo: First Blood Part II commentary track, the director (can't remember his name) says that Cameron pretty much wrote all of it, and Stallone simply tweaked it here and there later. |
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BT
Preeminent Apostolic Prelate of the Discipleship of Jabootu
USA
168 Posts |
Posted - 01/26/2010 : 08:21:38 AM
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"Of course we shouldn’t be surprised, a look at James Cameron’s past films with military characters like Aliens and The Abyss show a similar disdain for the military"
I never saw any particular anti-military bias in Aliens - the only real villain among the humans was Paul Reiser's bureaucrat. And lets not forget that James Cameron co-wrote the defiantly pro-military pro-vietnam war 'Rambo First Blood Part 2'. Just goes to show, you can easily see bias wherever you look.
I'd also add that while Lt. Gorman was portrayed as an idiot, he died a redemptive death, and the second biggest hero in the movie is a grunt (Biehn's Cpl. Hicks). Even Hudson ended up being OK. I'm not sure how that shows a "disdain" for the military.
More importantly, Cameron's brother served in Iraq, and helped him write "Avatar". Cameron also goes out of his way to make sure the villains in "Avatar" are identified as mercenaries, not the military. That seems rather intentional to me. I'm sorry, but ripping on Blackwater is NOT the same thing as ripping on the USMC. |
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Neville
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Spain
1590 Posts |
Posted - 01/26/2010 : 09:36:07 AM
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I wouldn't mind pointing out a bias if I thought James Cameron has one. There are many other filmmakers who do, obviously, but I don't think it's Cameron case. I just can't believe he was being militaristic with First Blood - Part II and Aliens, then turned into a pacifist with The Abyss, then switched gears again with True lies. I think he feels comfortable using the militaristic / pacifist messages depending on the story he is telling.
Even in Avatar, which arguably is his most anti-militaristic film, you can see how he is using Aliens-like military imagery whenever suits him. And let's not forget that the big finale is a massive battle with some pretty cool gadgets, such as the main vaillain's flying ship, or his robot. That's hardly the rethoric of a pacifist: "Let's show them how awful war is by showing them things go boom". The only difference is that this time we're not rooting for them as we did in Aliens, but considering the plot that's understandable.
That's why I find the whole "controversy" about Avatar so silly. I can understand the image of what look like American marines as the bad guys being disturbing for you fellas on the other shore, but Cameron is not and has never been a political director. If it came from some filmmaker with a blatant liberal record, then I would understand the raised eyebrows, but then the film wouldn't look like the crowdpleaser we're talking about. |
Edited by - Neville on 01/26/2010 09:37:59 AM |
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Terrahawk
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
644 Posts |
Posted - 01/26/2010 : 8:14:22 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Neville
C'on. It's a frigging popcorn movie! I'm surprised the same people didn't claim Spiderman was pro-Communist. I mean, it's a guy in a red costume that goes around helping the weak, and J. J. Jamieson it's a parody of the American businessman. And we all know what happened when Spidey tried to use his powers for a profit.
Neville, just to tweak you a bit, but your point here is what drives conservatives nuts. You are implying that conservatives won't help people and only look at profit. I won't spend time with a rebuttal, but your implication isn't generally true and it's a poisoning the well type of statement.
I summon Bigger Fish! |
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Neville
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Spain
1590 Posts |
Posted - 01/27/2010 : 02:45:52 AM
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| No offense intended, really. I was just joking about clichés, like when I said that if Spiderman wears red he must be a Commie. I'm sure in real life liberals are as prone as conservatives, if not more, to ignoring old ladies trying to cross the street. |
Edited by - Neville on 01/27/2010 03:50:27 AM |
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zombiewhacker
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
1475 Posts |
Posted - 01/27/2010 : 2:59:30 PM
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No offense taken, Nev. We're all friends here.
I agree Cameron isn't a political director. If anything, his style is more mercenary, pun intended. Villains in his films are always a means to an end, nothing more. Corporate or U.S. soldier terrorists wouldn't have worked in True Lies; on the other hand, Middle Eastern terrorists did the trick quite nicely, so there you go. That doesn't mean Cameron is anti-Persian. |
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Neville
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Spain
1590 Posts |
Posted - 01/28/2010 : 12:15:24 PM
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| That was my point exactly. As I see it, he uses whatever cliché is available to tell his story, and that's it. |
Edited by - Neville on 01/28/2010 3:11:43 PM |
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