They Insisted On Showing Their Gratitude
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Damsons also seem to have gone missing from the fruitary.
Demanding that only hunchbacks play a hunchback ignores that little detail called acting ability, though lacking that doesn’t seem to have hurt some actors much.
When 8 yr olds snap their heads around to look at a hot babe and ride their tricycle into a tree, then maybe they need sex ed. But of course in the real world they have no idea about the whole sex thing because it requires your hormones to kick in. Adults know this. But don’t call it grooming, no no no.
Demanding that only hunchbacks play a hunchback ignores that little detail called acting ability…
Taken to its logical conclusion, this would mean that only blind actors should play blind characters, likewise deaf, mute, and so on. Only retarded men should play Forrest Gump. Only homicidal actors should play killers. And who should be allowed to play Hannibal Lecter in the next reboot?
These demands are all bullshit, of course, and the proper response should be “FOAD”.
Could Orwell call it, or what?
*sigh*
Of course we have fruit. Here, have some of the delightful liquor of the agave plant…
The Amazing Kreskin would be a better choice than that ‘teacher’.
OK, I am officially confused, wouldn’t a “transqueer” be straight?
Please ignore the tortured grammar in the article so as not to offend whatever her or his pronouns are. However, speaking of tortured language…
“Enflesh”, nope, gonna leave that one alone, but this goes to show why there needs to be a wall around California. Nashville used to be fairly normal.
I do find it just a little incredible that he was unaware of the New Netflix Normal.
The comment section of that article is all about boundaries, about the process, about not questioning the professional authority of HR types. It’s a different world from old-school Hollywood, where the good people are spontaneous, authentic, sensual, seeking to transcend conventional morality and cold professional formality; and when the bad people wonder if this is an excuse for going to bed with young actresses, they only expose themselves as uptight, repressed, projecting, seeking to control female sexuality.
His moral muscle memory from old-school Hollywood is telling him he’s a good person.
“transqueer” “genderqueer” what? What? Words used to have meaning. They don’t mean “gay” but something else–but what?
visionary thinker–if crazy is visionary (and I suppose the crazy do have visions) then the woke have visionary all locked up. Sure, go ahead and smash the system–buy some land and grow your own food.
The gibberish quoted we can blame on post-modernism and Faucault et al. who insisted reality is just “discourses”. Right.
Working through your ‘reheated’ posts. 🙂
Tip jar hit.
So, what do your pour over your raspberries, strawberries, and other summer fruits?
We have to make do with heavy cream, which is a somewhat weaker version of double cream. From research I have done, double cream has a higher milkfat content than heavy cream. I don’t know why US dairies don’t produce double cream – I’m guessing it’s some bureaucratic diktat from the USDA (dept of ag) or the FDA – probably something that came out around WWII.
Caster sugar is another one I see in baking recipes from Britain, but that one I think there is a decent substitute for here in the US.
Tip jar hit.
Bless you, sir. May the smell of fresh paint never outstay its welcome.
“what do your pour over your raspberries, strawberries, and other summer fruits?”
Ice. Crushed with generous helpings of rum…
As to cream, try “manufacturers” in the States.
One must give the transqueer person in Duke Divinity School credit for choosing precisely the right word. Anyone gazing at
hertheir picture would agree that ‘enflesh’ is wonderfully appropriate.As to cream, try “manufacturers” in the States.
Yes, but manufacturer’s cream is hard to find in retail stores, at least from the few supermarkets I have checked.
the transqueer person in Duke Divinity School
Bears a passing resemblance to Zippy the Pinhead.
Caster sugar is another one I see in baking recipes from Britain, but that one I think there is a decent substitute for here in the US.
This is the one I use.
wouldn’t a “transqueer” be straight?
And a trans non-binary, binary?
Bears a passing resemblance to Zippy the Pinhead.
I was thinking, more like Humpty Dumpty.
You can make caster sugar by just grinding regular sugar a bit finer–my coffee grinder works ok for that.
“Next week on Practical Housekeeping…”
You can make caster sugar by just grinding regular sugar a bit finer–my coffee grinder works ok for that.
Maybe it would help to have a friend who runs a bakery…
the THRICE CURSED rhubarb either
As a tad, my mother used to grow rhubarb in the garden and I have fond memories of rhubarb pie. As an adult I have learned that it’s also supposed to have strawberries in it. We were kind of poor, apparently.
this would mean that only blind actors should play blind characters, likewise deaf, mute, and so on
Um…yes? Deaf activists have been insisting on this since Children of a Lesser God. Billy Bob Thornton got criticism for Sling Blade. It’s louder now and amplified by wine moms, but it’s always been there.
Next week on Practical Housekeeping
Get a coffee grinder and grind your own spices. It makes a world of difference.
As a tad, my mother used to grow rhubarb in the garden and I have fond memories of rhubarb pie.
Me, too. Delicious.
Get a coffee grinder and grind your own spices. It makes a world of difference.
But clean it very thoroughly between uses, I suppose, or your recipes and coffee will taste a little odd. Come to think of it, I suspect that a lot of people I know hardly ever clean their coffee grinders.
Next week on Practical Housekeeping.
Get a coffee grinder and grind your own spices. It makes a world of difference.
Oh yes. I especially like giving anise seed a coarse grind right before adding it to the biscotti dough.
Next week on Practical Housekeeping.
Do you have bird feeders and nesting boxes? Save your egg shells, dry them out in a 300 degree (F) oven for 10 minutes, cool, and give a coarse grind in a coffee grinder. Then put out near feeder or on top of fence where birds (especially during nesting season) can get to them to add much needed calcium to their diet.
Thank you, I’m here next week, too. 😉
But clean it very thoroughly between uses
I use a can of compressed air. As long as your spices are dry there’s not usually any aftertaste.
I use a can of compressed air. As long as your spices are dry there’s not usually any aftertaste.
On the other hand, some people like a bit of pepper in their coffee.
As a tad, my mother used to grow rhubarb in the garden and I have fond memories of rhubarb pie.
I remember eating raw rhubarb with my brother dipped in white sugar and making sour faces at each other.
Get a coffee grinder and grind your own spices. It makes a world of difference.
Yes, but if you’re going to do it on the regular, buy two and use one for spice and one for coffee.
As long as your spices are dry there’s not usually any aftertaste.
Still, you can never get rid of the oils that work themselves into the grinder (not Grindr). They’re part of the reason that grinding your own spices (especially the seed based ones) gives so much more flavour than dried.
I still prefer the old fashioned mortar and pestle. Crushing gives a different result than the cutting that occurs in a grinder.
This is the one I use.
Oh cool – thank you! I’ll be on the lookout for it – being a dry good, I bet I can buy it online pretty easily. I actually found Lyle’s golden syrup in the International Foods Brit section, next to the Heinz salad cream and the Heinz beans. They had Marmite and Branston pickle, too. Double cream I think is one of those things we’ll prolly never see in US grocery chains, although I guess some in select places here sell manufacturer’s cream.
I remember eating raw rhubarb with my brother dipped in white sugar
Just to be clear the rhubarb was dipped in sugar, not my brother. 😉
I actually found Lyle’s golden syrup in the International Foods Brit section
Corn syrup has the same properties as golden syrup and bakes the same. It’s probably easier to find and cheaper. The town I grew up in had a plant that manufactured the stuff along with corn starch and a bunch of other corn based products. The brand was BeeHive. One of the local hockey teams was called the Dixie BeeHives.
I don’t know why US dairies don’t produce double cream – I’m guessing it’s some bureaucratic diktat from the USDA
How about cultural divergence which can be traced all the way back to the colonies? Pure speculation, of course, but note the names that are common in England but extremely rare in America. Few members of the aristocracy and wealthy classes came to America, and disproportionately large numbers came from certain parts of England.
Not a headline you’ll see everyday.
Oh sheeeeeit.
I went to high school in Somerville.
(So did Lee Van Cleef.)
I still prefer the old fashioned mortar and pestle. Crushing gives a different result than the cutting that occurs in a grinder.
True, but if there’s a bunch of spices in a recipe, and going in at the same time, they’re going in the grinder. Still use the mortar and pestle from 30+ years ago, though.
Native women raise clenched fists outside Wisconsin state capitol: “This epidemic of missing and murdered Native women and girls must stop,” said Shannon Holsey, president of the Stockbridge Munsee Community, one of the 11 federally recognized tribal Nations in Wisconsin. “It’s not a tribal, singular endeavor. It is an everybody endeavor.”
An “everybody” matter? No, it’s a tribal matter, because nearly all the murders are committed by Native men, not by white men. But establishment news coverage will somehow neglect that fact, and the reporting and protests will be crafted to shame all of us. Furthermore, the tribal lands are to a large degree autonomous, so what are we white people supposed to do about wrongs committed by Native people and largely on Native lands? But I do know that I have been cautioned to avoid driving through Native areas because the Native police like to harass white people.
“because nearly all the murders are committed by Native men,”
Except for the first one the article mentions… the murderer is best described as an aspiring rap star…
So yeah, you white guys better shape up, fast.
I still prefer the old fashioned mortar and pestle. Crushing gives a different result than the cutting that occurs in a grinder.
Really? I also have a mortar and pestle, I’ll have to try it and see.
This epidemic of missing and murdered Native women and girls must stop
You’re supposed to import our comedians, not our bullshit.
nearly all the murders are committed by Native men, not by white men
One of the hastily buried facts in our own Royal Commission into this was that native women are murdered/go missing exactly in proportion to their demography. Areas with lots of natives also tend to have a lot of crime against women generally, apparently.
Really? I also have a mortar and pestle, I’ll have to try it and see.
Warm up the spices in a pan first and then use the mortar and pestle.
Just to be clear the rhubarb was dipped in sugar, not my brother. 😉
“How that elephant got into my pajamas, I’ll never know.”
“How that elephant got into my pajamas, I’ll never know.”
With difficulty?
I also have a mortar and pestle…
A mortar and pestle, or a vessel with a pestle?
Pinged you a little something for your trouble, barkeep.
Pinged you a little something for your trouble, barkeep.
Bless you, sir. Should you be applying styling product to your hair, and thus have sticky hands, may your father-in-law not choose that exact moment to phone you. (Ditto the brushing of teeth and use of mouthwash.)
Right, we’re off to the local IMAX to see Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. From what I’ve heard, it could go either way. Wish me luck.
we’re off to the local IMAX
Giving church a miss this week then?
In other religious matters; Happy Birthday Buddha, 2,500 and something. The cake must be enormous for all those candles…
The BBC informs that butterflies are returning again in encouraging numbers to California. Pictures of the iconic Monarch show them in clusters hanging from eucalyptus trees. An Aussie export helping the cause or just happenstance?
[ Waits for someone to restart the heated debate about the word aluminium. ]
Was just reminded of another terminological difference: British valves vs. American vacuum tubes. “Valve” really is a good name for what such a tube does, although I doubt more than one person in a hundred knows this. I still recall, albeit somewhat vaguely, the introduction to the physics of tubes and transistors that I got when I was working on my degree.
The BBC informs that butterflies are returning again in encouraging numbers to California…An Aussie export helping the cause or just happenstance?
As far as I know, this is entirely due to efforts to protect and expand habitats in Mexico and in America. And as a matter of fact, I occasionally walk by homes displaying signs announcing that the gardens are “Monarch-friendly”.
I still prefer the old fashioned mortar and pestle. Crushing gives a different result than the cutting that occurs in a grinder.
My mother taught me that, but I did find that crushing was a lot more work: Those caraway seeds were tougher than I expected.
You’re supposed to import our comedians, not our bullshit.
No need to import: America produces a surplus every year with no sign of depletion of reserves.
So yeah, you white guys better shape up, fast.
Funny how the “activists” never march through Da Hood demanding an end to crime By Any Means Necessary.
Areas with lots of natives also tend to have a lot of crime against women generally, apparently.
A lot of all sorts of crime, as I recall.
Not a headline you’ll see everyday, Take 2.
Not even I am crass enough to make the obvious joke, but I am thinking this guy doesn’t have clue one about real women.
Not even I am crass enough to make the obvious joke, but I am thinking this guy doesn’t have clue one about real women.
Perhaps before they trans, they need to make these guys work in a sandwich shop for a year?
“elephant in pyjamas”=Groucho Marx.
Monarch butterfly: as with many insects, it has wild population swings that no one can predict or even explain. The california population has not been in sync with the rest of the US pop.
Rhubarb: to me it is very bitter. Some people like bitter tastes. It seems covid is worse in people who like bitter tastes for some reason. How is that for linking disparate domains?
By the way, and should any of you care, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is visually inventive and emotionally flat. It’s often pretty to look at, but not at all emotionally engaging. It’s quite hard to care about what happens, to pretty much anyone. Though I did enjoy the opening battle with Gargantos – basically, an enormous eye with tentacles. That was funny.
“…as an oppressed minority…” this guy has thoughts.
“Trans … 35”
Hmm. He had his chop done in 1999, he’s now 35, so he was how old???
Yeah. This tale stinks. In several ways…
Gargantos – basically, an enormous eye with tentacles…
Hollywood has no new ideas.
The california population has not been in sync with the rest of the US pop.
We’re still talking about butterflies?
So yeah, you white guys better shape up, fast
Or else none of you get to be the new Doctor Who.
OK, over here we have more than our basic load of buffoons, grifters, and loonies, but what is going on over there? First the Scotsman confused about the difference between a kilt and a skirt, and now this gal confused about the meaning of “normal people”.
normal people
Not so long ago Labour was the party of the British working classes (although the old joke about pinning a red rosette on a donkey probably needs updating).
Mind you the stunning and brave MP who’s thinking about coming out as trans to the widespread acclaim of his peers in politics and the media, if not the poor schlubs who actually elected him, is a conservative.
It is called a kilt and not a skirt because if you call it a skirt you will get kilt.
Some of the old-time fashions were the result of the limitations of clothes making. Looms could make continuous pieces of cloth (though it took a lot of labor). Without scissors and with sewing pieces being difficult, the easiest thing was to make a toga (as in ancient Rome/Greece). A skirt/kilt is likewise a single piece of cloth.
“Trans … 35”
Hmm. He had his chop done in 1999, he’s now 35, so he was how old???
Maybe he IDENTIFIES as 35 years old…
Stop oppressing him!
It’s a skirt. Or tablecloth. Made of wool, so…no.
Of course, it’s 90+ outside today…
It involves a rubber glove.
Honk!
Experts say women and people of color could suffer the most.
Don’t they always?
WaPo, “Democracy Dies in Dumbness”
Ping!
Ping!
Bless you, sir. May the delivery drivers employed by local restaurants always know your address, and not take your dinner to some puzzled old dear across the road.
You’re very welcome.
Also, something to go behind the bar.
It’s quite something to behold.
Puzzled and honest, I should add.
Again, thanks to all who’ve chipped in so far, or subscribed, or done shopping via the Amazon links, including all those much too shy to say hello. It’s much appreciated and is what keeps this place here.
Hollywood has no new ideas.
No, it’s worse than that. There seems to be some conflation of Gargantos with Shuma-Gorath, a Dr. Strange adversary that dates back to 1973 – but Shuma-Gorath is just an outright Lovecraft swipe.
While it’s true Hollywood has no new ideas, it is also true that Marvel comics have shamelessly ripped off anything that wasn’t nailed down. Or couldn’t be ripped up with a crowbar (see the X-Men story “War Stars” and Uncanny X-Men #98).
So the point at which Hollywood failed to have any new ideas was when it bought a bunch of comic book companies and began farting out SFX-fests with superficial plots.
Honestly, though, the claim that Hollywood has no new ideas never made much sense to me. Hollywood’s output has always been largely adaptations of novels, history or inspired-by-a-true-story. There were never very many truly original screenplays.
There seems to be some conflation of Gargantos with Shuma-Gorath, a Dr. Strange adversary that dates back to 1973 – but Shuma-Gorath is just an outright Lovecraft swipe.
Yes. Maybe it was a rights issue? Either way, I’d say the Gargantos / Shuma-Gorath scene is the most entertaining part of the film. The CGI rendering has an odd, almost painted quality, especially the enormous eye, which adds to the comical surrealism of it. On a very big screen, it’s very pretty, and quite funny. But nothing after that held my attention quite as much. There are some amusing scenes, and some clever shots, but it’s not a film I’d rush to watch again as a film.
[ Added: ]
It’s a film from which sequences and scenes will look fine in isolation several months from now, seen on YouTube or whatever – several will look excellent – but taken as a whole, as a story, the film doesn’t really engage. It’s sort-of summed up by the cameos, in which famous characters appear, but almost nothing is made of them. One cameo in particular could have been made special, a real crowd pleaser, but instead it feels throwaway, even perverse, a wasted opportunity.
Hollywood’s output has always been largely adaptations of novels, history or inspired-by-a-true-story. There were never very many truly original screenplays.
There are vast numbers of fine short stories and novels that have never been made into movies. Some reasonable fraction must be capable of translating to the screen.
…Shuma-Gorath, a Dr. Strange adversary that dates back to 1973…
Rick Griffin drew the Hendrix/Mayall/King Fillmore poster back in 1968, so the comic book guys swiped it from him. The question of whether Griffin was inspired by Lovecraft or having participated in Kesey’s Acid Tests is left to the student.
There are vast numbers of fine short stories…
Netflix could buy the “Best American Mystery Stories” series going back over 25 years (it went woke in 2021 and fired the founding editor and replaced him with some intersectionalist harpee who seems to be more directed by DIE than by good writing and interesting story telling) and run a 13 part series annually for the next 25 years.
So it’s not like they’re even good at being unoriginal.
…some intersectionalist harpee who seems to be more directed by DIE than by good writing and interesting story telling…
Speaking of which, Ace points us to this reviewer who has thoughts about some new idiotic woke Star Trek variant. (Language caution)
Speaking of which, Ace points us to this reviewer who has thoughts about some new idiotic woke Star Trek variant. (Language caution)
Almost the only thing in Hollywood that I would want to be saved from an asteroid strike would be the archives of old films and TV shows.
It’s often pretty to look at, but not at all emotionally engaging. It’s quite hard to care about what happens, to pretty much anyone.
Dude. I told you that there was some sort of homework that you were supposed to do beforehand. Some guy named Julio or something mentioned this in the three Dr S previews…or was it four?…that we sat through on our movie theater trip last week. Parallel universes. They explain everything. But you must study…study. It’s all your fault really. Now if someone would just explain such stuff to my wife….
so the comic book guys swiped it from him
No, really not. Shuma-Gorath is explicitly called one of the Great Old Ones in the comic. Shuma-Gorath wasn’t a swipe from the poster any more than the D&D Beholder is.
So it’s not like they’re even good at being unoriginal.
William Goldman has a fascinating essay in one of the editions of The Princess Bride that explains why it took 13 years for the movie to get made after being optioned. Studio politics, basically.
Almost the only thing in Hollywood that I would want to be saved from an asteroid strike would be the archives of old films and TV shows.
I’m currently watching The Loner, a Western starring Lloyd Bridges and written by Rod Serling. And boy, can you tell it was written by Rod Serling. It’s like cowboy noir. Recommended.
some amusing scenes, and some clever shots, but it’s not a film I’d rush to watch again as a film
I was toying with the idea of binging the MCU for something to do of an evening until the warm weather starts, and I found myself really at a loss to note even one MCU film I’d really like to see again.
I found myself really at a loss to note even one MCU film I’d really like to see again.
I was watching Infinity War again recently, unplanned, and enjoyed it. I sat through the whole thing. But it’s a much better film and the pacing is remarkably good, given all that’s crushed into it. As I think I said at the time, it has an unexpected economy. For such a big film, with so many characters and locations, it still somehow feels nimble. The Strange sequel moves along fairly briskly too, but it doesn’t have anything like the sense of momentum, of storylines converging and coming to a head. In comparison, it feels flat, messy and underwritten.
It’s also as much a Wanda film as a Strange one, at least, so there is, again, an air of bait-and-switch. Olsen’s performance is fine, but the writing is weak and not entirely coherent. To take an obvious example, one of many, Wanda craves her imaginary children, seen in WandaVision, such that she wants to abduct them from some parallel universe in which they actually exist. But the love of her life, the children’s supposed father, whose death left her distraught and unhinged, isn’t mentioned, or wanted.
So, Wanda will kill people, in large numbers, and risk destroying the world – destroying all worlds – to be a single mom.
Related meme:
Script writing is hard, it would seem.
“…as an oppressed minority…” this guy has thoughts.
Not asking for anything special. Just being able to get into a toilet. About which there’s no argument, so presumably the argument is whether he can get into a women’s toilet. But now that he’s a city councillor, the reaction when he walks into a women’s toilet will be: he’s a politician and therefore trustworthy in toilets; he’s that politician from the telly who dresses up as Mrs Marple in his capacity as a representative of our city, and therefore can be trusted in a changing room with my daughter; why are you so obsessed about a man in the women’s spa when there are so many pressing local issues to worry about, I mean look at the state of the roundabouts, not to mention the bicycle racks; get on the right side of history, your phobias must give way to normalization; yes, that nice old lady does look like Mrs Marple, I didn’t notice anything else unusual about her, did you, apart from a general aura of stunning and brave.
Speaking of parallel universes, I thought WWIII was supposed to start today? It is May 9? Or did I oversleep? Given all the hype I must say I do feel a tad disappointed. Gosh, I would hate to miss such a thing.
William Goldman has a fascinating essay in one of the editions of The Princess Bride that explains why it took 13 years for the movie to get made after being optioned. Studio politics, basically.
I should go back and re-read it.
Another writer said that Hollywood politics is so bad that producers will sabotage projects begun by predecessors so that they can point to the failures as proof that their predecessors were incompetent: Finished films get no advertising budget. Unfinished films get abandoned or get finished badly. Good screenplays are thrown away and new ones solicited, because anything the previous executives liked must be shown to be garbage.
Yeah, what a swell idea.
Well, I suppose it is for the landlord, who would rake in over 11K/month rent, but I’d bet money the bathrooms are an unholy mess after a week.
but I’d bet money the bathrooms are an unholy mess after a week.
Much less than a week.
Also: That kitchen seems inadequate for 14 people: They’re going to have to cook in shifts. The stove and dishwasher will be almost constantly in use–unless most of them rely on carryout and microwavable meals.
It’s much appreciated and is what keeps this place here.
Long may it stay. *ping*
Long may it stay.
Bless you, sir. May the films you look forward to seeing actually be good.
Bless you, sir. May the films you look forward to seeing actually be good.
I’m looking forward to a Bogart-Bacall film tonight.
David, was you ever bit by a dead bee?
So, Wanda will kill people, in large numbers, and risk destroying the world – destroying all worlds – to be a single mom.
That. The plot makes no sense.
The plot makes no sense.
It doesn’t bear much scrutiny, no. As a thing to build your entire film on, Wanda’s motivation is neither convincing nor compelling. It’s one of those films where you find yourself thinking, “Why didn’t this character do that other thing instead?” It seems to me that even if your film depicts a world of superheroes, sorcery, and parallel realities, then the in-universe logic, and the logic of the characters’ motivations, has to be quite clear and plausible. Given that the script is generally one of the less expensive components of a blockbuster film, you’d think that a little more time and care might be taken to get it right, or at least not so bad that it’s distracting and makes engagement rather difficult.
Again, there are some fun scenes and plenty of fun ideas, or potentially fun ideas; but the thing just doesn’t hold together well or work as a narrative. It didn’t make me care, or want to see it again.
The plot makes no sense.
It doesn’t bear much scrutiny, no. As a thing to build your entire film on, Wanda’s motivation is neither convincing nor compelling.
If you’ll allow me to speculate without having seen it, here’s a troubling thought: Maybe it makes sense to the screenwriter and director. We already know that the thinking processes of “woke” people are somewhat damaged, and some of them very damaged.
*presses orange button, tells wife it’s for pornography*
*presses orange button, tells wife it’s for pornography*
Heh. Bless you, sir. Should you be planning a post-lunch nap, may the tree surgeons that the neighbours have hired not choose that moment to fire up their chainsaws.
Oh, and please feel free to browse our ginormous bosoms.
Maybe it makes sense to the screenwriter and director. We already know that the thinking processes of “woke” people are somewhat damaged, and some of them very damaged.
Well, the film is morally incoherent and at times perverse. Which, for a film about heroes, is a little jarring. Obviously, there’s Wanda’s screw-the-father-abduct-some-kids story arc – though now she’s the villain of the piece. It just bears an uncanny resemblance to her behaviour in the TV series WandaVision, on which the film’s plot is very much dependent, and during which we were clearly expected to empathise with her fits of sociopathy, and in which she was praised by another supposed hero, as if she, Wanda, were somehow justified in taking hostage an entire town and torturing the inhabitants, including children, for weeks. Strange’s own arc, or arcs, are also confused, inconclusive, and contradictory.
Marvel’s latest batch of head writers – including Jac Schaeffer (Captain Marvel, WandaVision), Malcolm Spellman (Falcon and the Winter Soldier), and Michael Waldron (Loki, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness) – are not only ungifted. They don’t even seem to understand that, in order to be satisfying, stories about superheroes generally require some kind of moral footing.
Well, the film is morally incoherent and at times perverse…
Which returns my to my thoughts about how “wokeness” attracts damaged people. Perhaps we will eventually see documentation showing that most of these writers and directors and producers are indeed psychopaths of one sort or another.
Which returns me to my thoughts about how “wokeness” attracts damaged people.
Well, it’s hard to tease apart mere incompetence – bad writing – from what is intended but perverse. For instance, did Ms Schaeffer simply not notice the grating moral dissonance of WandaVision’s finale, or did she think the lead character’s behaviour – basically, torturing random people, including children, for weeks – was actually sympathetic, something to be excused and free of legal consequences – provided a woman does it, that is – and even framed by other supposed heroes as something selfless: “They’ll never know what you sacrificed for them.” Did she not notice the unhappy flavour of it?
At the time, Ms Schaeffer said that we, the audience, were very much meant to sympathise with Wanda, who inflicts all this sadistic horror to satisfy her own fantasy and then just flies away afterwards. To focus on her own feelings.
[ Added: ]
Just spotted this, which is very much related.
I realise it’s easy to become po-faced and self-serious when bitching about superhero films and TV shows, or any kind of popular entertainment. But… these things do convey, intentionally or otherwise, something of the culture, of the values and assumptions in play, if only the values and assumptions of the people who wrote them.
Well, it’s hard to tease apart mere incompetence – bad writing – from what is intended but perverse…
True.
…For instance, did Ms Schaeffer simply not notice the grating moral dissonance of WandaVision’s finale, or did she think the lead character’s behaviour – basically, torturing random people, including children, for weeks – was actually sympathetic…
Your very example shouts to me that the Ms Schaeffer is indeed a psychopathic monster: How could she not notice what you point out here? On the other hand, I am relying entirely on your description, so perhaps I should allow for other possibilities.
But this discussion keeps bringing my thoughts back to the science fiction writers I encountered in my youth, and the red flags that I dismissed or failed to notice, only to learn later that they were indeed dangerously damaged people indeed.