tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251675227852122352.post2386557507181012103..comments2024-01-05T06:18:18.086-05:00Comments on CommentaramaPolitics: It's The Left's FaultAndrewPricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comBlogger57125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251675227852122352.post-52867917614962186102015-10-06T13:18:15.124-04:002015-10-06T13:18:15.124-04:00>> loser unloosed, but are you talking about...>> loser unloosed, but are you talking about the shooter... or the media? ;-) >><br /><br />Yes. ;-)EPorvaznikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12653412963180740901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251675227852122352.post-9122456676860126152015-10-06T00:15:58.583-04:002015-10-06T00:15:58.583-04:00Anthony, Don't get me started on the overuse o...Anthony, Don't get me started on the overuse of CGI. Grrr.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251675227852122352.post-71920971403202762932015-10-06T00:15:17.834-04:002015-10-06T00:15:17.834-04:00Koshcat, Everyone is now some sort of anti-hero. ...Koshcat, Everyone is now some sort of anti-hero. Hollywood seems to think it makes the more "complex," but I think it's just easier to write because it means there are no boundaries on the way the guy can act at any one point.<br /><br />And yeah, I too find it depressing and have given up on a lot of shows that are just too dark.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251675227852122352.post-90464118697134407532015-10-06T00:13:38.844-04:002015-10-06T00:13:38.844-04:00Thanks Eric! :)
I love the term loser unloosed, b...Thanks Eric! :)<br /><br />I love the term loser unloosed, but are you talking about the shooter... or the media? ;-)AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251675227852122352.post-53803792269084655552015-10-06T00:12:52.892-04:002015-10-06T00:12:52.892-04:00Bev, That's true too. Violence is much more b...Bev, That's true too. Violence is much more brutal when you see it today. I doubt anyone would have made Game of Thrones a decade ago, even HBO.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251675227852122352.post-45154276648269471842015-10-05T20:40:34.874-04:002015-10-05T20:40:34.874-04:00Koshcat - I like the fact that they aren't try...Koshcat - I like the fact that they aren't trying to make excuses or that any of the women are wrongfully in prison. There actually is no real political agenda about how our legal system fails. They have all committed their crimes and they deserve to be in prison. The other stuff I can fast-forward through. I guess in a way this is just another example of the "anti-heroes", but with less violence. Also, it just enforces my reasons for not wanting to go to prison or jail or any other kind of incarceration. ;-)BevfromNYChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14953050916932306270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251675227852122352.post-10458856820684859882015-10-05T19:29:31.501-04:002015-10-05T19:29:31.501-04:00"I like OISTNB, but there isn't a whole l..."I like OISTNB, but there isn't a whole lot of graphic violence."<br /><br />Yeah, but there is a lot of shower scenes and lesbian acts. I thought I would be really ok with it but now it bores me a little. Maybe I need to get my testosterone checked.Koshcathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00552108950848576633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251675227852122352.post-39257219916746749662015-10-05T18:13:07.747-04:002015-10-05T18:13:07.747-04:00Tryanmax,
I think I understand your point, but I...Tryanmax, <br /><br />I think I understand your point, but I don't agree with it. IMHO (over)use of CG and a determination to get a PG-13 rating translates to the average modern action movie not having the meatiness the average action movies of past decades had.Anthonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16124128949343301445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251675227852122352.post-7019467049704775212015-10-05T18:03:48.017-04:002015-10-05T18:03:48.017-04:00"That's about the only reason I can see t..."That's about the only reason I can see that could even be offered and that is a crappy one at that. Especially as kids don't make decisions about war, there is plenty of time for the to learn the ins and outs later, and ironically, kids seem to already know that war is bad."<br /><br />But when they grow up they can (sort of) make decisions.<br />And until then, they can provide good photo-ops of kids holding placards saying "War hurts people!" <br /><br />The wisdom of children.Kithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01453591141757808708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251675227852122352.post-48254549844784706972015-10-05T17:52:31.330-04:002015-10-05T17:52:31.330-04:00I don't know what is causation or correlation ...<i>I don't know what is causation or correlation here: Is more violence begetting more violence or are we as a society more violent and wanting more from our media?</i><br /><br />Koshcat - Do you really think that if all the violent images went away tomorrow, there would be a giant cry from the masses "Give us back our bloodshed, NOW!!!!" Nah...<br /><br />I agree with you about the trend toward the anti-heroes. It actually started getting to me to the point where I just stopped watching the Sopranos, never really watched BB, couldn't finish the last season of Dexter and FF thru the graphic stuff, and don't get me started on Peaky Blinders. I like OISTNB, but there isn't a whole lot of graphic violence. BevfromNYChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14953050916932306270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251675227852122352.post-21360107047512865582015-10-05T17:20:36.596-04:002015-10-05T17:20:36.596-04:00There seems to also be a trend in media where the ...There seems to also be a trend in media where the bad guy is the good guy-sort of. For example, The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, Dexter, Orange is the New Black, Peaky Blinders. Generally, these have been better written with better characters than most of the crap on TV and I have enjoyed them. However, I have also felt trouble with hoping they get away with it.<br /><br />I don't know what is causation or correlation here: Is more violence begetting more violence or are we as a society more violent and wanting more from our media?Koshcathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00552108950848576633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251675227852122352.post-10051017191952261412015-10-05T17:03:28.103-04:002015-10-05T17:03:28.103-04:00Excellent column, as usual, AP, and love all the c...Excellent column, as usual, AP, and love all the comments, too! <br /><br />If I may offer some alternate descriptors for the media coverage, I'd like them to use "Loser(s) un-loosed." Yes, probably more tough-love judgmental than appreciated in this age of anti-shaming, but the proof-reader in me just can't resist the urge to address multiple issues with one headline.EPorvaznikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12653412963180740901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251675227852122352.post-74893223264448098052015-10-05T16:59:57.917-04:002015-10-05T16:59:57.917-04:00>>Is there anything that is the fault of the...>>Is there anything that is the fault of the right? (He asked, rhetorically.) :-)>><br /><br />Duh, prosperity. Have you _not_ been paying attention to Bernie Sanders' rise to the upper-middle? ;-)EPorvaznikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12653412963180740901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251675227852122352.post-83150333952487535302015-10-05T16:46:28.515-04:002015-10-05T16:46:28.515-04:00Anthony, I think you understand what I'm sayin...Anthony, I think you understand what I'm saying but are refusing to acknowledge the point. It isn't that the cinematic landscape is uniform at any given time. It's that different characteristics dominate that landscape now than 20 years ago. And, as I alluded to, some elements that dominated 40 years ago dominate again today. tryanmaxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09881154741574720094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251675227852122352.post-5862424186673662722015-10-05T16:11:20.650-04:002015-10-05T16:11:20.650-04:00Tryanmax,
I agree there are some dark action heav...Tryanmax,<br /><br />I agree there are some dark action heavy movies floating around, but that has always been the case even in the 80's (remember Aliens?). I'd say most popular action franchises nowadays are The Fast and the Furious, The Avengers and The Transformers and all three lean heavily on spectacle and have a lot of jokes.<br /><br />I'd say a dominant trend of most action movies nowadays is being spectacle-heavy/CGtastic. <br /><br />If you like humor in your action movies and haven't seen Guardians of the Galaxy, you should.Anthonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16124128949343301445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251675227852122352.post-60659018470925047042015-10-05T15:20:25.892-04:002015-10-05T15:20:25.892-04:00"But something has changed today and a huge p..."But something has changed today and a huge percentage of films, now in all genres, use violence as the solution to their problems."<br /><br />Anthony and Andrew - the "thing" that has changed is not the 'violence" portion but the graphic nature in which violence is depicted. Back in the day, you would see a shoot out, the one shot would clutch his/her chest and fall down. You never really saw blood and guts hanging out. Even in horror films you didn't really see the real blood and gore.<br /><br />Now the more "realistic" the better....BevfromNYChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14953050916932306270noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251675227852122352.post-88206859562324278442015-10-05T15:08:29.468-04:002015-10-05T15:08:29.468-04:00Koshcat, That's the other annoying thing about...Koshcat, That's the other annoying thing about this. The media blows this stuff up until people think this common when it's not. As you note, more people died in Chicago this weekend than the shooter got. Yet, the media doesn't care about those because it's not as easy to sensationalize. Indeed, a panel discussion of the causes of what happened in Chicago would be very uncomfortable for many of the participants. It's much easier to stick with a freak event and try to draw impossibly broad conclusions from that.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251675227852122352.post-3158050799513080282015-10-05T15:06:15.034-04:002015-10-05T15:06:15.034-04:00Anthony, I think it shows a growing desensitizatio...Anthony, I think it shows a growing desensitization to violence.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251675227852122352.post-3255556442755440412015-10-05T15:05:50.361-04:002015-10-05T15:05:50.361-04:00tryanmax, Let me add that in the past, violence wa...tryanmax, Let me add that in the past, violence was actually shown not to be the answer. Tom used violence to get Jerry, and failed every time... almost always with a backfire on the use violence. Ditto on the Coyote and Elmer Fudd. Ditto on the Hana Barbara stuff. In most of the action films of the 1980s, the hero would never have become the hero if the bad guy hadn't tried to use violence against them. <i>Star Wars</i> even said that using violence except in defense was the path to the dark side.<br /><br />This was a very common theme. Violence = bad, and characters who use it to solve their problems make their problems worse or only hurt themselves.<br /><br />But that's changed.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251675227852122352.post-61916006642241450252015-10-05T14:57:12.505-04:002015-10-05T14:57:12.505-04:00Anthony, I'm not saying pop culture is more vi...Anthony, I'm not saying pop culture is more violent than ever before. I'm saying it's packaged differently, or more to the point, packaged less. It used to be more dressed up with colorful characters and fantastic scenarios. I'm talking movies and cartoons. Then it got decided that stuff in general (Spongebob and Marvel notwithstanding) needed to be more realistic. That shifted the role of violence on film away from humor or spectacle and toward more banal purposes, such as shutting some mother f****r up. <br /><br />That doesn't mean the funny stuff went away completely, it just means there is less of it. The action movies of today remind me very much of the action movies of the 70s. Very blunt, very brutal, dark and quite humorless. Again, not saying every action hero needs to be a wise-cracker. But at the present, Hollywood seems to be portraying violence very seriously--almost clinically--and as a primary solution to problems. tryanmaxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09881154741574720094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251675227852122352.post-84088938006699570792015-10-05T14:49:39.071-04:002015-10-05T14:49:39.071-04:00What I hate about the media is how they blow up on...What I hate about the media is how they blow up one story and ignore others just as worrisome. Doing a little googling today, I found that over the weekend in Chicago there was 1 death and 11 seriously wounded by gun violence. One weekend; one metro. The media reports these so much they have become numb to the violence but then go apeshit over this coward in Oregon where the 9 deaths compared to the country are a statistical blip.<br /><br />"Coward" should be the term for these shooters. They attack innocent, unarmed students but aren't man enough to even stand up to their own mother. <br /><br />Before we get too nostalgic, serial killers have always been around and they always prey on the weak and/or naïve. What he did was no different than strangling college girls or murdering prostitutes over several years. They know it is wrong or they wouldn't go to so much trouble either not getting caught or fighting off police. They cannot be treated to a point where it is safe for them to go back into society. Passion killing can probably be treated as their targets are generally very focused. These killers cannot and is truly what the death penalty is for; not to deter but to remove the monsters.<br /><br />The handling of the death penalty is where the left also gets more blame. Show me another person who deserved the death penalty more than the Aurora movie coward. The right gets a little to blame since it is used too often in turf war and passion killings but there is too much concern that you might execute the wrong person.Koshcathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00552108950848576633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251675227852122352.post-55112276337411342592015-10-05T14:47:48.164-04:002015-10-05T14:47:48.164-04:00Andrew,
Keep in mind when I am talking Marvel, I ...Andrew,<br /><br />Keep in mind when I am talking Marvel, I am talking their tv cartoons, not their movies. I agree that their movies are pretty violent (though the really, really violent stuff such as the Punisher movies tends to fare poorly at the box office), but they aren't really aimed at kids in the same way their tv shows are.<br /><br />Ultimate Spiderman, Hulk and the Agents of Smash and even Avengers Assemble (by far the least jokey of the lot) are all quite a bit lighter than their non-cartoon counterparts. Haven't seen the new Guardians of the Galaxy cartoon yet.<br /><br />As for showing of The Predator getting more explicit, does that reflect a changing culture or just the fact cable channels don't have to worry about FTC fines to the same extent broadcast networks do?Anthonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16124128949343301445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251675227852122352.post-58441701332713713382015-10-05T14:27:44.352-04:002015-10-05T14:27:44.352-04:00Anthony, There are still muscle heads like The Roc...Anthony, There are still muscle heads like The Rock and Vin Diesel. But the "action movie" is pretty much dead because so many other films have morphed into action films. Comic book movies in particular have replaced the action film. But also look at all the heist film with Jason Statham or sci-fi films that are total bloodbaths like <i>Edge of Tomorrow</i>. Most of these films have become brutally violent.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251675227852122352.post-20524196007708683112015-10-05T14:21:52.035-04:002015-10-05T14:21:52.035-04:00Bev, Isn't it interesting that the same people...Bev, Isn't it interesting that the same people who think kids should get to see gun fights on film don't want them owning toy guns in real life. How does that work?AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6251675227852122352.post-4805269257629691742015-10-05T14:20:14.957-04:002015-10-05T14:20:14.957-04:00Anthony, Let me add this...
There is an interesti...Anthony, Let me add this...<br /><br />There is an interesting way I've run across to mark how violence has changed. In the 1980s, when <i>Predator</i> came to television, they entirely cut out the scene where Arnold finds the prior special forces team skinned and hanging in the tree. The whole scene was gone.<br /><br />By the 1990s, the scene was back, but they only showed a little blood dripping on someone's shoulder (I think it was Bill Dukes) and then Arnold's team talking.<br /><br />By the late 2000s, they showed flashes of the bodies in the trees.<br /><br />Last year, on AMC, they showed the whole scene uncut, even with a long pan of the skinned bodies and then pulling down one of the bodies.<br /><br />The commercials they show for upcoming movies have also become very gory these days.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.com