#worlds most insane persona evolution

[meowsticmarvels]

happy ides of march to akihikos fucking persona

[whoisglory]

Top 5 Favorite Female MHA characters

Number 5

Nejire Hadou

She is definitely one of my favorite female characters, all though she is quite new to me, i always adored her quirk. I loved her appearance in the manga and I’m looking forward to seeing her kick ass in the new season! I really like her design, especially her eyes. Her quirk is really cool and would definitely be in my top 5 if i could choose my own quirk. I have a small headcannon which is probably cannon actually but it’s not confirmed yet, I think that due to Nejire’s outgoing and bubbly personality as well as her good looks and strong quirk made her very popular among the boys and heroes alike! She was during her first and second year ahead of mirio and tamaki but they soon caught up with her making them the big three. I really hope to see more of her but let’s move on to

Number 4

Ibara Shiozaki

What can i say except i love her, when i was still an anime only i liked seeing her already, I thought she was pretty and her quirk looked really strong and useful! She appeared to be kind and gentle, unlike monoma she wasn’t vengeful towards 1A and had a true ideology a hero should have. No wonder kaminari would like to ask her out! But when she absolutely destroyed kaminari in their battle i knew that i found love.

I would say, but that’s not completely true. I liked her character but I appreciated her when i met @thatawkwardotaku. Now bare with me here, we did a roleplay. I like doing those because I practice my english and i get more in character with the characters i play, and i also get ideas for stories! I tried out ibara for the first time when i met her. I had a really fun time doing the roleplay and mailla even said i was good at Roleplaying her. So that day i was just “IM SOLD” and loved her, she did go down a few ranks but i hold her close in my heart

Number 3

Itsuka Kendo

Okay so, before you continue reading. Look at her, look at her eyes. Look at her ponytail. Are you finished looking at her? Good, so why has everyone been sleeping on kendo instead of sleeping on their bed? Look at the grace, the strength, the beauty, the tomboy. It is Itsuka Kendo! I really like her personality, I would say that her personality matches with mine a bit because well, all my friends are complete idiots and i am quick to take on a motherly role when I’m near them. I love those idiots. Kendo is the big sis of 1B and arguably has more idiots to deal with and i love her. She’s a friend everyone deserves to have

Back to her design! I love the tomboy aesthetic, she’s energetic and not a pretty girl. She’s beauty but also a tough tomboy, she actually has my favorite hero costume. I love the qipao and when I designed my own character i gave her a qipao as well. I’ll soon show her and the art people drew for my oc!

Number 2

Melissa Shield

This was a really close call, Itsuka kendo or Melissa Shield. I know that she was only in the movie and I’d be lucky if we would ever get to hear her name again but shut up i can dream. Melissa is a foreigner in the world of mha, usually when i talk to my friends I’m the foreigner, i also look quite a lot like her (i wish i was as pretty as her) but personality wise I really like her. Ever since i started watching mha i loved thinking about making characters their strongest possible self. Whether this be through support items or through gaining an extra quirk or quirk evolution. This is how i started getting into support items. I studied a lot of support items and I absolutely loved seeing the costume upgrades and i could only imagine what i would do! I like her kind and caring nature, all though a bit oblivious and maybe a bit overly kind i can relate to her nerdy and geeky side. But overall she’s another reason to show that anyone can be a hero

Headcannon time

bigger headcannon, during the My Hero Academia two heroes movie we never got to see Melissa’s mother. She only made one appearance on the pictures Melissa has in her work shop, when Melissa was born and on her wedding with dave. Not on anything else. We didn’t see her on the Halloween one with her father. It was constantly either all might or dave, so I think that after Melissa was born she died, usually mother’s stay to raise their child. And i think it’s safe to assume that dave is quite rich I don’t think she’d be working abroad. And i would expect to see at least one picture of her for her daughter to remember her by. Imagine her living a life with deku’s father, the i hate being there for the majority of my kids life so that the parental figure can be replaced by all might club. But countering my own theory, she wasn’t mentioned or used as a motivation. Melissa might have said something like “Dad what would mom think if she saw you now!” Aside from that Melissa appeared to be a happy and lucky child but maybe she was too young to grasp the concept of death.

Honorable Mentions

Kyoka Jirou

Fun fact, i love music. I love singing and trying out new instruments. So I really liked jirous character. Cool and music loving, funny and sarcastic and a bit of a prankster. Even though she was never a main main character she did play some crucial roles in character development of characters. Like saving kaminari during the USJ attack, helping Koda with his fear of bugs. She was one of the main reasons eri smiled again and she truly helped momo out of her shell! There more to her then just her cold persona and small chest.

Mei Hatsume

Back to my love for support, I really like this insane, crazy scientist. She’s amazing just amazing. I also relate to her crazy and weird side because i am a little weird. When I’m around my friends i can drop some weird ass shit in the conversation randomly, but if i do that you can expect that I really took a liking into you!

I love this noodle hair and you can expect seeing her in the future again becoming one of midoriya&co most important allies.

Number 1

Momo Yaoyorozu

Holy moly, an actual 1A character that’s important to the story and not some side character from 1B? Yes i know this may sound impossible but yes. I can actually like main characters that are important to the story!

Momo, my angel i came a long way with you. Ever since i started watching MHA i liked her character, she was so kind and caring on the inside. She appeared so cold and like many other cold rich know it all characters. Yet she wasn’t, she was a true friend that loves helping out others. A hero when she wasn’t in her costume and a hero in her costume.

She’s constantly worrying about others, as well as helping them succeed. With her on your team you almost have an assured win. Her intelligence and versatile quirk will always get you out of a tight spot. I really, really hope her character gets the justice it deserves

Thank you for listening to this stupid rant post thing!

[ladyanatui]

Ultimate Daiken Playlist, Pt. 1

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

This is the abridged version of my Spotify playlist for all things Daiken, mostly in order from the start of 02 to...eventually. Even so, this is still a pretty damn long list. My original aim was for 30 songs, but...uh, yeah, I surpassed that pretty quickly. It’s around 75 now. Yikes. So I split it up.

I have problems with self-control. Especially when it comes to my babies.

Part 1 specifically covers from the start of 02 to just after the defeat of the Digimon Kaiser.

TRIGGER WARNING: This post discusses depression, suicide, emotional abuse, and PTSD quite a lot. Take care of yourself, folks!

Spotify Playlist

Click the song titles for YouTube links (apparently you can’t have more than five videos in a post), and otherwise, enjoy me rambling about Daiken...as I am wont to do.

One final note: Within the lyrics, I’ve emphasized meaningful words, such as night/nightmare, dark/darkness, miracle(s), kind/kindness, courage/bravery, friend/friendship, sun/star/light, fire/burn/ignite, angel(s), and words related to water/drowning.

“I’m Just a Kid” by Simple Plan

I think I got a lot of friends But I don't hear from them What's another night all alone When you're spending every day on your own

I envision this as Daisuke’s life before becoming one of the Chosen, before meeting Ken. It’s pretty well established that Taichi and Hikari are the only legitimate friends he has during that time, aside from (possibly) his soccer teammates, but he’s not close with any of them. And worse, his home life is obviously not great: His parents ignore him, and his sister irritates him just to irritate him. That may seem like a normal brother/sister relationship, but a 17-year-old slapping her 11-year-old isn’t normal or healthy.

The truth is, Daisuke has no legitimate example of healthy family interactions, and in some ways, his home life is as emotionally abusive as Ken’s was. His parents insult him (his father calls him his “stupid son” when Ken first visits) and ignore him (Daisuke repeatedly says his parents wouldn’t notice if he didn’t come home and lies to them to avoid spending time at home), so he has no idea how to respond to compliments.

This also means that he latches on to the people he cares about, much the same way Jun latches on to attractive boys. He idolizes Taichi (calling him senpai when speaking with him directly), and he constantly seeks attention from Hikari. Since we don’t know what Daisuke and Hikari’s relationship was like before Takeru shows up, it’s all speculation, but Daisuke was probably way less aggressive and possessive of her before someone came to try to take his one friend away.

So Daisuke has no idea how to show affection (whether familial, platonic, or romantic) in a normal, healthy way. He’s never had a close friend (or any real friends probably), and he’s never been close with any of his family. He’s actually lived an incredibly lonely life.

“Dark Blue” by Jack’s Mannequin

This flood This flood is slowly rising up Swallowing the ground Beneath my feet Tell me how anybody thinks Under this condition So I'll swim, I'll swim As the water rises up Sun is sinking down

Similarly, this functions as Ken’s theme song for events prior to the start of 02. There are a lot of references to water--“flood,” “swim,” and I believe there’s talk about drowning as well--which is very fitting because of the Dark World (Ocean), but also because Ken obviously suffers from depression and the idea of drowning is one of the most used and most accurate descriptions of what chronic depression feels like (trust me, I know!).

But my favorite part of this is the last two lines from the quote. Let’s be real, the sun is a huge symbol when it comes to our goggle boys--they are bright, cheerful, energetic, and so fucking bright they could rival the sun itself. When Ken is so incredibly surrounded by darkness, Daisuke is the sun. There are so many things that support this, but most importantly:

The Crest of Courage is shaped like the sun. It doesn’t get more overt than that.

When V-mon evolves to Magnamon, it’s described as: “It was a miraculous evolution. As beautiful as the rising sun shining brightly on the world.”

Daisuke is the sun. Ken is the world. And Ken needs his sun to help him out of the darkness.

“Send Me an Angel” by Highly Suspect

Open fire on my burning heart I've never been lucky in love My defenses are down A kiss or a frown I can't survive on my own

Send me an angel Send me an angel Right now, right now

Before they met, before 02 actually starts, both Ken and Daisuke are effectively alone. Yeah, they’re surrounded by people (Daisuke more than Ken), but never of them have any real friends or close relationships.

This song is something I see Daisuke feeling in his more introspective moments (rare, I know), as what he needs more than anything is true love and companionship. When I say love here, I don’t necessarily mean romantic. While, yes, Daisuke has poor luck in romance (Hikari, hello!), he has poor luck with platonic love as well.

And I’m all for anything that references Ken as being an angel. Obviously, Ken would never agree to that sentiment, but a lot of the time, it feels like that’s how Daisuke views him. To Daisuke, [post-Kaiser] Ken is this amazing, beautiful, even verging perfect person, and you can see he feels that way just from the way he looks at Ken.

I also chose this song because it’s a small reference to something I drew not too long ago, which itself is based on a Lilo & Stitch meme.

“Duality” by Set It Off

I can't quite contain or explain my evil ways Or explain why I'm not sane All I can say is this is your warning

It's a cloak or disguise unleashed, gonna get it off No, I'll never get away Cause if I try to stray It only holds me closer No, I'll never get away I'll have it any way

Okay, this is very obviously a Kaiser song. But it’s also a Ken song. The whole thing about this song is that Ken is trapped as the Kaiser and doesn’t have full control over himself. And can he actually explain why he does the crazy evil shit he does? His explanation is that he thought the Digital World was a video game, but that’s obviously not the full picture. He can’t fully explain because the Dark Seed is what makes him evil as opposed to simply sad and lonely and traumatized.

“Numb Without You” by The Maine

You are my last, you are my first You kill me for the better You are the rising tide You're every fucking thing inside me now

You are the violence in my veins You are the war inside my brain You are my glitter and my gloom I am so numb without you

This is another Kaiser/Ken song. To an extent, this song has a sort of sadistic romantic aspect to it, but I’m choosing to ignore those undertones in favor of just the creepy sadistic part. This is sort of Ken singing to his Kaiser persona and also to depression in general. Because the Kaiser is the “rising tide” (oh, look another reference to water!) and the manifestation of his grief and trauma and mental illness.

But as the title of the song suggests, the Kaiser persona is also what allows him to still feel something. Without it, he’s in the complete numbness of his depression (which sucks, trust me), and he would rather have the Kaiser, who is violent and angry and bitter, instead of the absolute numbness of his grief and depression.

“Deer in the Headlights” by Owl City

Tell me again was it love at first sight When I walked by and you caught my eye Didn't you know love could shine this bright? Well, smile because you're the deer in the headlights

Met a girl boy with a graceful charm But when beauty met the beast, he froze Got the sense I was not her his type By a black eye and bloody nose But I guess that's the way it goes

Note: I (obviously) changed a few pronouns in the quote. It should be apparent what I altered based on formatting.

Here, we see the first time Daisuke and Ken meet. And I’m talking Ken (although evil Ken), not the Kaiser. Yes, this is referencing the soccer match they play against each other in episode eight.

It’s pretty damn obvious that eleven-year-old Daisuke is completely enamored when he meets the famous Ichijouji Ken. He blushes and stumbles over his words, and he is so overwhelmed and happy that Ken remembered his name after the match was over. He admires him, and when Ken tells him that he’s the first person to ever stop that move in the match, Daisuke just looks so pleased to hear the compliment.

Also, bonus points for any song that references the sun or light: “Didn’t you know love could shine this bright?”

“Love the Way You Hate Me” by Like a Storm

You say I'm insane I say You're afraid I get stronger from the pain I love the way you hate me

I'd rather be a sinner than a slave I'd rather be an outcast than just bow down and obey When it's all done there's only one Name upon my grave I'd rather be a freak than be a fake

Another Kaiser song. While the previous song could be placed pretty much any time during the first fifteen episodes or so, this one is distinctly set after they find out the Kaiser is Ichijouji Ken. The focus here is on the way the Kaiser (emotionally) gets off from how much the Chosen Children, Daisuke especially, fight against him and hate him. He enjoys watching them try so hard and keep failing because, while he desperately wants to have an opponent, he loves to win more--he does think it’s a game, after all.

“Lock Me Up” by The Cab

Why don't you Lock me up with joy and kisses? Lock me up with love? Chain me to your heart's desire

I don't want you to stop Lock me in and hold this moment Never get enough Ain't no way I'm ever breaking free Lock me up

This song is mostly in reference to the serious foe yay aspect to Daisuke and Kaiser Ken’s relationship for the first half of the series. The homoerotic subtext in their relationship is ridiculous, especially since they’re two eleven-year-old boys, one of whom (theoretically) has a huge crush on a female friend for the first half(ish) of the season. But you can bet that, if the Chosen Children had a second enemy during the Kaiser’s days, the Kaiser would be pissed and pull the whole “No! Motomiya’s my enemy. Only I can defeat him!” bit like he’s Kaiba Seto or something.

“Fallen Angel” by Three Days Grace

How can I take the pain away? How can I save...

A fallen angel in the dark Never thought you'd fall so far Fallen angel, close your eyes I won't let you fall tonight Fallen angel

But then there’s comes the very important part where Daisuke has a revelation. When he and V-mon meet Wormmon on the Kaiser’s base, Wormmon is determined and takes them to the Digimental of Miracles in an attempt to help them defeat the Kaiser and bring back his kind-hearted best friend. The moment Daisuke touches the Golden Digimental, something changes: It’s connected to Ken because it’s borne from his Crest of Kindness, and Daisuke is able to see that there’s more to Ken than his Kaiser persona. He knows that there’s good in him before they’ve even defeated him, and he wants to help him.

And seriously, bonus points for a song from Daisuke’s POV that refers to Ken as an angel. I’ll fight anyone who says he doesn’t see Ken that way. Legit.

“Breaking Down” by I Prevail

Lies, every time they ask me I just tell 'em that I'm fine Try to hide my demons, but they only multiply Keep me running from the voices on repeat inside my mind Everybody fucking hates you

I guess I never noticed how it came creeping in My enemy emotion but I can't sink or swim I say I'm feeling hopeless but no one's listening But no one's listening, but no one's listening

This song is in reference to the way Kaiser Ken’s psyche is falling apart. He’s having doubts. Creepy voices are talking to him. He’s confused about how the Chosen Children are actually defeating him. Chimairamon is a freaking nightmare and totally uncontrollable. And Ken is about to have a goddamn breakdown.

“Goner” by Twenty One Pilots

Though I'm weak Beaten down I'll slip away Into the sound

I've got two faces Blurry's the one I'm not I need your help to Take him out

Look how far we’ve come! We’re almost to the Kaiser’s defeat! (Dear god, this is a long playlist...)

Ken isn’t aware of how much he needs Daisuke to help him at this point. He’s too busy being the Kaiser and, you know, having a mental breakdown. But it’s important that Daisuke is the one there to help bring everything down. V-mon evolves to Magnamon and defeats Chimairamon with some badass moves (he is a Royal Knight after all), and Daisuke and the rest of the Chosen Children are finally able to get through to Ken.

“Not Gonna Die” by Skillet

Break their hold Cause I won't be controlled They can't keep their chains on me When the truth has set me free

Only when he realizes that the Digital World isn’t a game is Ken able to break through the hold that the Dark Seed (and Oikawa and BelialVamdemon, etc.) have on him. He tears off his Kaiser clothes and goes back to being just Ken. Just sweet, kind-hearted, adorable Ken.

Parts of this song, though, would be from Daisuke’s perspective. He’s determined, even though they have defeated their enemy, to help Ken, even that simply means sending him home to his family instead of letting Ken just waste away, which is frankly what it looks like he’s about to do during this scene.

“Tell Me Why” by Three Days Grace

Tell me why Does everything that I love get taken away From me? Why does everything that I love get taken away?

How come nothing ever lasts? It goes from good to bad to worse so fast All it takes is one and I'm gone, and you can't erase the past How come nothing ever lasts?

Obviously, this is a Ken-centric song, the focus being on his past when he saw his brother’s death, though Osamu’s death is nowhere near his fault. Yet again, Ken goes through a traumatic experience (Wormmon’s death), and for the first time, this is (somewhat) his fault.

While I linked the subs version, the English dub of this scene actually has a line almost exactly like this song: “Not again. Wormmon’s gone. Just like my brother. I was helpless to save him, and now I can’t save Wormmon either. Why do I keep losing people?”

Sorry, were you not wanting to cry today? ...Oops.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

[renzywenzy]

Joker Review

*Disclaimer* I held off posting this review until Phoenix won the Oscar. I promised myself that if he hadn’t won, I would have just left this in the drafts forever. That’s how much faith I had in this man and now here is my critique of my favorite film of 2019. 

I have a tattoo on my right arm. The tattoo is actually the Batman logo but altered. One half of the logo is normal but the other half is made up of red “HAHAHAHA’s” all over. There’s a reason why the dynamic between these two is my favorite of all-time. It’s two different interpretations of insanity colliding in an eternal battle. It’s two iconic, well-written, captivating characters having epic confrontations. 

Needless to say, I love the characters of Batman and The Joker. I grew up on them and they have played a huge part of my life. My ideologies, my way of thinking, my perception of the world, my behavior in private and in public have been directly and/or indirectly impacted by these two characters.

Any film or any form of media that have these two, separate or together, is already met with my high expectations. So obviously, my expectations for this film were through the roof. If this film was nothing short of great, I would have been really angry. 

I would have been the first to say how disappointed I was, I would have been the first to say that Joaquin Phoenix should never play The Joker again, I would have been the first to say that Todd Philips should stick to raunchy comedies and stay away from the character as far as possible....but that’s not the case here. 

I’m singing a different tune. A tune that I’m gonna be letting everyone hear with every chance I get. A tune that I’m gonna be playing in my head whenever I dance on the street. 

Ladies and gentlemen... please welcome Joker.

The Tragedy

First of all, I’ll begin with some faults that I found in the film. Not a whole lot but I have to get these out of the way so that I can end the review with high points. 

1.) The origin story we didn’t want but the one we got anyway

Now when I talk about origin story, I don’t mean Joker’s. I mean Batman’s. I’m really sorry to say but I am getting absolutely sick of seeing THAT scene. 

I have to point out that it felt like this scene was rushed. It wasn’t shot as well as the other scenes. Every other scene in Joker felt like there was a beautiful story behind it. As if there was a creative progress going through the minds of the people in the scene and off the camera but this scene felt rushed and was treated like an afterthought. 

I must admit, of all the films that showed Bruce’s parents in the alley, this one might be one of the weakest I’ve seen in a while. Even that piece of garbage Batman V. Superman had a slightly better way of showing that scene. If you’re going to show us a scene that’s been overly done since the beginning of Batman films, you gotta add a little more flavor and cinematic flair to it. Sad to say that for a film that was shot so well, this scene stuck out like a sore thumb. 

2.) A little too much dancing and a few too many ribs

As it says in the point, there’s a little too much there.  Don’t get me wrong, I love most of his dance scenes but there’s maybe 1 or 2 too many. I personally would have kept the first dance scene when accidentally shoots a gun, the one after his first kill, the one with his mother, and all the dance scenes once he completely transforms. These particular dance scenes were showing us a slow evolution and allowed to see how his mind was slowly changing. But there were a few dance scenes that didn’t really do that and instead was just kind of there. For example, the few dance scenes where he’s half-naked can be taken out completely and it wouldn’t make a difference. 

And speaking of him being half-naked. I understand the film wants us to see how weak he his and in some scenes, it wants to show you the literal scars he got from society. However in some of these scenes, it gets a little distracting. The first scene where he’s half naked and trying to adjust his shoe is just perfect because for one, you don’t know really know what he’s doing at first so it leaves you wondering for a few seconds and two, you get to see how much his frail body struggles with something so simple. 

But then you have a few scenes where he’s unnecessary shirtless like the one where he’s smoking and watching TV. It seemed needless for him to be shirtless for this scene because the main point of it was his reaction towards what was being shown on TV. Again, it’s no problem to show us how skinny and weak he looks but it has to be the point or a point of a scene or else it’s just distracting.

Small gripes but I had to find some criticisms for the film. But now that that’s out of the way, let’s put a smile on that face (I know they’re not the same. Just be like Joe and Chill).

The Comedy 

1.) Romero, Nicholson, Ledger, Hamill, and now...

 ...Phoenix

There have been numerous people who have played the Joker with each actor adding their own twist to the Clown Prince of Crime. Romero embodied the camp and goofiness of the Silver Age iteration, Nicholson provided a more laid-back and mafia-esque performance, Ledger portrayed him as a true anarchist who “wants to watch the world burn”, and the legendary Hamill basically performed multiple layers of Joker’s persona for his 20+ years as the character and is THE definitive voice (and laugh) of The Joker. 

Joaquin Phoenix joins this hall of fame (or infamy) by giving us a closer, more in-depth look at the mentally ill, physically battered, and emotionally abandoned man behind the smile. 

I honestly can’t give this guy the praise he really deserves but I’ll do my best. My lord...this man blew me away like I was a talk-show host. Powerhouse performance doesn’t even begin to describe his acting. 

This film, as well-made as it was, wouldn’t have worked nearly as well had it not been for its main star. This film hinged on how well Mr. Phoenix played the titular character and he absolutely delivered.

The film had a tough job in its hands: portray how a man was slowly dissenting into madness to the point that he lets the madness in and indulges in it. It was going to be a deliberately slow process that required an actor who can be significantly subtle enough to convey to the audience how a character is evolving but taking small steps to do so. Phoenix did that with flying colors. 

If you look at the first scene where we’re introduced to Arthur, it’s clearly not the same Arthur when the film reaches its ending. We went from a man who walks with a slouch and a noticeable stiffness to a man who vigorously dances in the streets without a care in the world. 

Don’t get it twisted, though. Phoenix didn’t play two different people nor did he play a man who takes a sudden huge leap in his personality. He played a person who displays slight changes to his psyche in each scene and these small changes eventually pile up. Arthur was meant to be a man who was layered like an onion and Phoenix’s performance mirrored that perfectly. 

Is he the best Joker? I can’t say that. Each Joker I’ve been introduced to, while having a different spin, is ultimately the Joker at his peak or even at the twilight of his criminal life. This is the first time where I’ve witnessed a Joker who is still truly staring out. And no, Nicholson doesn’t count because Jack Napier was an established criminal way before he became the Joker. So I’m not too sure yet where to rank Phoenix’s actual full-blown Joker as it doesn’t last long however excellent it was AND a huge factor for me when it comes to ranking Jokers is the interactions with Batman. There was no Joker and Batman clash here. Only Arthur and Bruce. As it stands, Phoenix’s spot on the all-time Joker list may not be the highest but in terms of pure acting, he may very well be #1. 

I know this sentiment has been repeated multiple times but I do honestly believe Phoenix deserved the Oscar here or at least a nod. 

2.) Familiar punchline, fresh set-up 

For any Batman/Joker fan, you’ve probably heard of this following quote:

“If I’m going to have a past, I prefer it to be multiple choice.” 

It’s an iconic quote and one that you will hear in almost any review of this film but there is a good reason for it. The line encapsulates one of the best things about The Joker: the mystery of his origins. 

As mysterious as the character is, it’s hard to keep The Joker interesting these days. He is the most over-exposed Batman villain of all time and quite possibly the most over-exposed villain in fiction period. Comic books, video games, tv shows, live-action movies. The Joker has been in EVERYTHING. Like his heroic counterpart, the Joker has been exposed too much to the point that there’s really not a lot of fresh things you can do with him.  

The last time any media brought something refreshing to The Joker was in Telltale’s Batman video game where you meet a man named “John Doe” who’s still looking for himself and finding out which path in life he wants to take. In the game, whatever John becomes is based on your actions. That was in 2017. 

The last time before that was in 2011′s Flashpoint where Martha Wayne became The Joker in an alternate timeline where Bruce dies in the alley. Even though this version of the Joker had a clear backstory and no mysterious origin, it was still fresh because of the sheer novelty of seeing Bruce Wayne’s mother as The Joker and his father as Batman.

So there are stretches of time where there’s nothing new and exciting for The Joker character but I’m happy to say that this film does breathe new life into the character. 

The filmmakers understood how this specific character should be handled and they did it in ways that are plausible. His abusive but vague childhood and his delusions help in keeping the film from being straightforward. 

Let me give some examples. In the scene where Arthur steals his mother’s files in the Asylum, it’s said that he was adopted by Penny and that he was abused by one of her boyfriends. 

Some people I’ve talked to believe that it was Thomas Wayne who put Penny in the Asylum and forged adoption papers. Some people even say that it was Thomas Wayne who abused them when Arthur was a child. Some people say that it’s true and Arthur really was adopted. 

We don’t know these things definitively and that’s the best part. It’s whatever you want it to be. Multiple choice. 

I personally want to believe that Arthur really was adopted because that just adds another air of mystery to him. If he was then we don’t know his actual birth name or who is real parents are.  

All in all, even though the evolution of Arthur into The Joker remains the ultimate goal, the film lets you make up your own path into how he got there. It’s handled beautifully and the script is clearly made with a lot of knowledge of and love for the character. 

3. A problem tackled with grace

I just wanted to point how well this film handles the issue of mental health and illness. This topic will forever be relevant and is an issue that’s been tackled in media before. Some handled it terribly, some handled it bad, some handled it ok, some handled it well. And then there’s Joker that handles it amazingly. 

As someone who sees mental illness on a regular basis, it was so sublime how accurate this film was. The image of a decaying mind and one that descends further and further down is so powerful in this film and it just never half-asses it and I loved that. 

My girlfriend is a nurse and she interacts with mentally ill people far more than I ever will and she praised it more because everything she saw from Arthur is something that she has personally had to deal with in her patients. I asked her if there was even one inaccurate and she said “No” because everything was completely plausible and has actually happened in real life on multiple occasions. Delusions of grandeur, uncontrollable ticks (like a laugh), murderous tendency, self-harm, stalking, hallucinating, you name it and most likely, this film shows it. 

Not only is Arthur’s mental illness accurate but what makes it better and why I praise it is how others deal with him. It’s scary how much it mirrors reality. Some people may know how to interact with him while others just get annoyed with him. Even those who are accepting of mentally ill people can still have be irritated with them when they come in contact with them. 

Arthur is beaten not just because he’s mentally ill but because he just looks like a weak man who can be pushed around. People don’t care if he’s sick, they’ll kick his ass or make fun of him regardless and in some cases, they’ll have even more incentive when they learn he has mental problems which is sadly similar to the world we live in today.

Joker is arguably the best adaption of mental illness for this decade (I say arguably because Bojack Horseman is up there) and I can’t believe that the director of the Hangover films got it right and speaking of which...

4. He directed what??

Todd Philips, the man behind the Hangover trilogy, Starsky and Hutch (2004), and Old School directed this film. Imagine late 2018 and you just heard who the director was and you search for the films he directed prior. Did you honestly believe, in your heart of hearts, he was going to pull this off?

Don’t get me wrong, comedic talents have proven to excel in other genres. Jordan Peele is a great example of that but that doesn’t necessarily apply to every comedian...However, it applied to Mr. Philips. 

His direction, his vision, his execution was top-notch and I have to apologize to this man because I honestly doubted him when I initially heard about it. I knew Phoenix was going to do well and I thought that the film would just rely solely on his performance but no. Todd Philips deserves a lot of credit here. Yes, he takes some ideas and cues from Scorsese (not a bad inspiration by the way) but he handles the psychological aspect in his own style.

In terms of performers, this was close to a one-man show as you can get but Philips’ contributions behind-the-scenes should to be given as much appreciation. Phoenix was the master painter and Philips gave him the tools.

Honestly, if Philips wants to direct more dramatic and heavier films akin to this, I’m all for it. If he wants to stick around and maybe direct some more DC films, I am definitely on board. In this time of uncertainty towards DC films, Philips gave me hope. Yes, I know this film isn’t part of the DCEU but if they want to create more films in the Elseworld universe, Philips should still be part of it in some way. 

5. The sound of laughter

I’m not going to lie. I rarely appreciate film scores. While I do believe they enhance a film’s quality, I’m not actively seeking it out unless it truly stands out. The only scores I truly remember and appreciate is the opening score for Star Wars, the Superman score, the main score for Indiana Jones, the Back to The Future action sequence score, Danny Elfman’s Batman score, and all of the scores from The Godfather films. 

By the way I realized the first three examples I gave all sound similar but it makes sense since John Williams made them all.

So out of the hundreds (possibly thousands) of films I’ve seen, these are the only scores I can truly remember and now we add one more to the list: the dark and beautiful score by Hildur Guðnadóttir. 

She absolutely gave me a much better understanding of how music can not only enhance a scene but be worked around it. Apparently, the music was made first and Todd Philips would shoot scenes with the score playing in the background so that he can craft scenes based on which part of the score he was listening to. This is the first time something like this has ever happened in the filmmaking process and it absolutely worked wonders. No wonder why each scene tied in so beautifully to a specific part of the score.

Hildur has made it and I hope to hear more of her work in future projects. 

6. To a bright future (hopefully)...

This section is more of a call to action than a positive point for the film. That being said, Joker’s success has opened up many possibilities for DC films moving forward. 

Let’s be honest here. The recent attempt of DC keeping up with Marvel in terms of films has not been great. DC is Marvel’s biggest competitor but when you just look purely at movie success, you wouldn’t think that.

That’s because Marvel started something solid over a decade ago and is currently having the biggest and most epic film franchise today and, quite possible, of all time. 

DC tried (and is still trying) to do the same but it has been a roller-coaster with some enjoyable ups (Man of Steel, Wonder Woman, Shazam) and terrible downs (Batman V. Superman, Justice League, Suicide Squad, Birds of Prey). 

Now with the huge commercial and critical success of this film, Warner Bros. need to take advantage of this while they have the chance. Joker is a film that is set in its own universe and not a part of the bigger DCEU and this could be DC’s way of being as successful as Marvel. Elseworld stories. Detective Comics was the first to put huge emphasis on a multiverse in their comics and I believe it��s time to bring that to the films. 

They’ve already implemented a multiverse with the television shows but now is the time to let the silver screen experience this. 

Unlike Disney, Warner Bros. has the movie rights to ALL of the DC characters. All of them. From heavyweights like Superman and Batman to less popular characters like Question and Red Tornado. They need to make use of that advantage because there are plenty of characters who have not had successful film ventures yet. Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Batgirl, Constantine (sorry Keanu) Lobo, Zatanna, Static Shock, Booster Gold (a personal favorite) and so many more. Give these characters a chance. They can shine in their own standalone movie that doesn’t have to do with the DCEU. However, if you want to put all of them in the same universe, you’ll need visionary writers capable of that. 

Consider this my call to action for Warner Bros. because I’m admittedly more of a DC fan than a Marvel. Don’t get me wrong, I love both franchises but DC was my first so I am biased towards them. I’m happy that Marvel has continuous success but it also makes me melancholic because it makes me question why DC can’t experience the same. 

Only time will tell if DC can keep this up because right now, they’re doing well overall but even if they ultimately never catch up, they can be proud of this one. 

Overall...

I love this film and its portrayal of an iconic character. They took an overused and overexposed character and somehow made him fresh again without taking away what made him so popular in the first place.

Todd Philips had a vision and he took it to a level that I didn’t think he was capable of. Joaquin Phoenix just absolutely killed with a performance that’s going to be remembered forever. 

As I write this review, talks of a sequel have already begun. I’m honestly not sure if they can do outdo themselves. My expectations will be even higher but they are most certainly welcome to exceed them again. 

[dcarevu]

The Last Laugh

“When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping!”

Hey, guys. This is Collin. I know that we’re only four episodes into this blog now, and things are just starting to roll…but unfortunately, I’ve decided that the stress of college and work is too much, so I’m going to have to go on an indefinite hiatus…

April fools!

SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT

Villain: The Joker Robin: No Writer: Carl Swenson Director: Kevin Altieri Animator: Akom Airdate: September 22, 1992 Episode Grade: B

The Joker’s back on the show already, and again, he has formulated an overly-complicated plot which seems to be designed specifically to lead Batman directly to him. We start by seeing a boat full of repulsively green trash chugging through the Gotham river. It’s emitting an absolutely foul stench, and while we aren’t sure if this is a typical occurrence, knowing this city, I wouldn’t doubt it one bit. Char, my girlfriend and watching-buddy got the impression that Gotham is indeed an old, dark, gothic city, but this was her first exposure to the griminess that is often associated with it. This time, however, the griminess seems to be a little bit more pleasant; in fact every citizen who notices it seems to burst out laughing! The garbage is emitting a powerful laughing gas that doesn’t just cause a rush of giggles, but it also seems to send its victims completely out of control, and they start ignoring all of their surroundings altogether. It’s like they’re not even aware of their laughter, as the fumes get them as high as a kite.

Meanwhile, still in Gotham, but away from the city, we cut to a really great shot of Wayne Manor. Inside, Bruce is sprucing himself up, and we discover that it is April Fools’ Day thanks to Alfred once again being the lovable savage that he seems to be. Offering to “draw” Bruce a bath, he quite literally draws him a picture of a bath, hoping to at least get a smile out of him. But alas, when he’s not reaching for his rich playboy persona, we see that Bruce is actually quite the stick in the mud. I love Kevin Conroy’s way of creating two voices for the character, something that had never really been done before this show. I actually believe this was Kevin’s idea, which is no surprise given his acting background. He somehow does it in a way that makes the Bruce Wayne persona seem even more fake, despite that voice being closer to Kevin’s actual voice.

Bruce Wayne dedicating himself to living a lie like that must truly be tough. Think about how that must hamper his relationships, and it starts to explain the social state that he finds himself in later down the DCAU timeline. I’m someone who is an introvert, and sometimes the amount of energy required to socialize is more than I would like to admit. But if I had to pretend to be someone I’m not every day when my true self is as dark as Batman’s character (and let’s be real, Batman is our main character, Bruce Wayne only exists as a name on his legal documents), it would be a lot worse. The seeds were planted this early, and it shows the thought, consistency, and understanding that Radomski, Timm, and co had for the character right away. This wasn’t your average Saturday morning version of Batman.

Obviously as more and more people throughout the city begin to become affected by the laughing gas, it does not go unnoticed by news outlets. Bruce immediately comes to the same conclusion as many of us watching; The Joker. It’s merely a matter of finding him and figuring out what he is up to. Meanwhile back in the city, we find out just that; The Joker and two of his goons are using the gas-induced obliviousness of the citizens on the street to rob them right under their noses. Even police officers are in tears, not paying the least bit of attention. The Joker, of course, is cracking comments and laughing his ass off the whole time. Some of his lines are legitimately hilarious in this episode, I’ve gotta say! While he was entertaining as all hell in Christmas With The Joker, it was more in a simple whacky, over-the-top, cartoon way. He still has some of that aspect here, but a lot more of it comes from genuinely clever writing. Some of his most well known lines from the show come from this episode. “So we’ll just punch some air holes!” and “YOU KILLED CAPTAIN CLOWN!” to name a couple, the latter being downright legendary.

So far, this episode gives the simple vibe of a fun Joker romp without much meat on its bones, and much of it is. But the stakes do raise as we cut back to the Batcave. Batman is analyzing some of the gas, and learning that it causes “permanent insanity”. We’ll come back to this a little bit later, but obviously he has to do something. Not just because of the robberies and accidents happening, but also just because of the mental health factor. Insanity? Not particularly good for you. All of a sudden, however, we hear a crash come from upstairs when he attempts to call Alfred down into the cave. He runs upstairs, and here we see Alfred, smashing artifacts and furniture with a broom as we hear him belt out cackles unlike anything we have heard from him. The gas is inside the house. Batman immediately dons a gas mask and heads out to stop it, presumably taking care of Alfred first. Alfred, and Wayne Manor in general, being the thing in danger isn’t an element the show does a lot, and I think the moderation allows it to stand out a lot more. It can immediately turn a silly episode like this into something much more serious. Char was gasping and worrying the entire time, not wanting Alfred to be hurt. I think she’s growing to really like him. This is helped by the fact that Alfred was recast for this episode, and his new actor, Afrem Zimbalist Jr (unfortunately no longer with us) would remain for the entire rest of the DCAU. Both of us like this change a lot. I think this new voice helps with Alfred’s miniature character evolution, as it just suits this personality more. The first voice (Clive Revill) wasn’t bad by any means. Paired with the version of Alfred that’s a bit more stereotypical “5-star restaurant waiter”, it felt pretty natural. But Afrem…he brings the character to life like no one else can. There’s no way I can picture Clive laughing maniacally the way that Alfred did here. Also…and maybe it’s just me…but even though for the first three episodes Alfred was voiced by a man who was actually English, it sounded more like a fake accent than Afrem’s! And maybe this is because I’m an ignorant American who doesn’t hear English accents every day, nor am I aware of all the regional variations. I don’t know. But virtually everyone who talks about this new portrayal absolutely loves it, so I’m likely not alone with this aspect either.

Back in the river, we see that the garbage boat is fake. Below the water, what looks like the top of a boat is being carried by a submarine. Looking through the periscope of the sub, the Joker catches sight of Batman’s eyes, staring back at him through the lens. Then, BAM. Batman smacks it, causing the entire thing to rattle, and sending the Joker to the floor. Boy are we getting some great drawings in this episode. Batman’s face through the lens looks amazing! We also had some fun, yet purposely ugly shots of people laughing on the streets earlier, and then the Joker getting knocked away from the periscope is gold. After this, we see that Batman is towing around the “boat” with his own Batboat (its first appearance), which pisses the Joker off. So we get a fight scene between the goons and Batman, which is one of the better action scenes we’ve gotten up to this point. Is it still a little bit stilted? Yes, most definitely. But is it Spider-Man the Animated Series level? Not a chance. I did get some excitement here, and the big hunk of metal known in this episode (and throughout the Internet) as Captain Clown is a robot, so we got a little bit of extra fun here. The Fox censors were not as sensitive if the beating was not being done to an actual human being (even if it’s hard to tell whether or not it's human just by looking), and we got to see Batman throw an actual hard punch. The fight against the other two gives me the impression of martial arts and self defense, which also makes sense given Batman’s background (which will be covered later). The scene ends, however, with Batman being locked in a container and thrown into the water, with the container leaking in through the many holes that the Joker stabs into it with a knife. Seeing the Joker whip out a knife like that and puncture it with Batman inside is really jarring given that this is episode four, and we hadn’t really seen that kind of near-violence prior. Yeah, Batman dodged the stabs, but if one of those had hit, he’d be done. Another glimpse into the dangerous psychopath aspect of a character you don’t always expect to fear. To be clear, this was jarring in a good way.

Situations like this are hard to write for, because you have to be able to come up with a solution that isn’t anticlimactic or complete bullshit. Here Batman calls his Batboat with his utility belt and has it slice the container up with its laser gun blast. It was thinking outside the box a little bit (no pun intended), and having the laser miss during the first shot was a good touch. Granted, I also don’t recall this laser getting much use later down the line (you would think a powerful tool like this would be heavily utilized, hinting at it being added just because of this predicament, but then again, welcome to the world of Batman’s gadgets), so overall I don’t think it was perfect. Pretty cool, though, and I’m not gonna complain. I wasn’t expecting it, and I did find it exciting. Also, 12 words: Batman’s anger once he manages to swim back up to the surface.

To speed things up a little bit, Batman gets to the service, finds where the Joker has gone, defeats the thugs by exposing them to their own laughing gas, and even manages to decimate Captain Clown in a trash compactor. After this, the rest of the episode is pretty much just a chase sequence, and it almost reminds me of a video game. Batman is basically going through an obstacle course. We get a couple more really great shots here, one of the Joker creepily riding a conveyor belt through the shadows, and one of Batman sliding down the garbage shoot. I’m surprised this was animated by Akom, as I specifically remember their animation being generally C-tier when I watched the entirety of Animaniacs (with TMS obviously being the best). Perhaps it was all in the storyboards. The more detailed they are, obviously Akom has more to go by with less room to mess things up. Batman ends up confronting the Joker on a walkway above a vat of molten metal, where Joker throws some razor sharp playing-cards at him. He misses once, and then for the second card, Batman manages to catch it. This is a scene that makes you audibly go, “Awww shit”, and you can tell Joker is thinking the same thing. Char brought up something interesting here. The Joker constructs these incredible plans to disrupt Batman’s day. I swear, he plans everything. But only up until a certain point, because he banks too much on certain aspects. He swore that throwing Batman into the river would have finished him. It’s like the SpongeBob episode where Plankton says something like, “I never thought I’d get this far”. Once Batman makes contact with that card razor, Joker panics and immediately tries to run away, ultimately defeating himself as he trips himself up with a rope. He plays with Batman one step too far. He doesn’t realize when to stop. He pokes the bear, and although he may ultimately be a glorified, crazy mobster, he’s not a fighter. Despite this realization of Char’s, which I totally vibe with, just two episodes ago we had the Joker tripping, falling, and being caught by Batman. So overall I do consider this ending a little cheap. A low point to an otherwise entertaining episode.

Well, I guess it’s not quite the ending. Because after this, we are back with Bruce Wayne and Alfred. Alfred seems to be feeling healthy again, but he is distraught since he broke a priceless artifact earlier when he was exposed to the insanity gas. Bruce tells him not to worry, and that it can simply come out of his paycheck, but also assures him that he’s joking, and it’s all an April Fools’ joke. Bruce even chuckles about it. I love this segment, and even though Bruce can be a stick in the mud as I said, every once in a while he can let himself have a little bit of fun.

For some additional things that didn’t quite fit in with the previous paragraphs, I found myself wondering what Joker was exactly planning on accomplishing after the robberies. I almost think that he was honestly expecting to be caught by Batman, or he was at least not planning past the stage of killing him. But I guess with such an unpredictable maniac, you’d have to be able to read his thoughts to really understand a lot of it. Also, Batman’s computer specifically said that the gas causes permanent insanity. Yet at the end, everyone seems to be fine. Does it require more exposure? Does it mean that it’s permanent for just as long as it’s being inhaled? Was it simply wrong? I was a little confused by this. Mark Hamill’s performance was amazing as always, and as I explained the way that Mark tends to almost visually morph into the character while he voices him, Char mentioned something about him and the Joker becoming one like with the Venom symbiote and Eddie. Accurate observation. And lastly, she mentioned something about how this Joker is someone where you never know when you’ll be on their bad side. I got flashes of a certain early scene from Return Of the Joker here, and I cannot wait for her to see that film.

Char’s grade: A

Major firsts: The Batboat, a form of Joker’s laughing gas

Next time: Pretty Poison

By the way, I’m still messing around and trying to figure out the best format for these blog entries. I don’t think I’ve quite found something that works for me yet, so for a bit, the posts may be a little inconsistent in how they’re laid out. Experimentation! I want to try and make them a little bit less like summaries, and more discussion/reaction-based. Thanks for bearing with me! Also, any constructive feedback is appreciated!

[hannahmatthewswestminster]

the social dilemma, netflix

a deeply disturbing documentary that explores the catastrophic impacts of social media on us as a specie, culture and society. our lack of trustful information, enabling us to live in a disinformation society, taring apart the very roots of how society works and is formed. it showcases a family and represents the impacts it has within family constructs; younger children and teenagers who can’t seem to get themselves away from their devices. it visually showcases how detrimental these devices and platforms are to mental health, with the rise of suicide & mental health directly coinciding with the rise and popularity of social media. no average person truly understands how these platforms work and how they enable you to stay online, addicted and focused for so long, on things that seemingly won’t help us develop in our lives and within ourselves, its as though these devices have put a pause on evolution. of course, they have enabled instant access to pretty much any kind of research, information and knowledge, however how much of this information is true and what is not. many had a lot of admiration for google on these terms, whilst they built a parallel money machine, away for the majority of the publics understanding, tailoring information to the individual and not the truth

it’s sad how infected we have become by these platforms, and very intentionally. the corporations make more money, the more time you spend using them. ‘if you are not paying for the product, then you are the product’ we are being sold. but really i feel it delves deeper than that. the algorithms deeply understand you more than your family, more than you even do, they predict the future in terms of your behaviour, your interests, how long you spend on specific things, learning what to send you next to keep you attached for longer. you are against a powerful and highly intelligent algorithm that is changing the way you behave and is wasting your life to using these platforms. these platforms are competing for your attention. their business model is to keep you engaged on the screen, and figure out how much of your life they can get you to give to them, how they can keep your attention. our attention is the product being sold to these corporations, changes in our behaviour is the product, changing what we do and how we think. who we are. a very gradual change, very gradual. its scary and the world is being infected by this technology. they are earning enormous amounts of money from our innate human capability of attention. surveillance capitalism enables this to happen, by gaining vast and huge amounts of data, data has now surpassed the price of oil. this marketplace trades in human futures, changing the future as we know it. these markets have made the internet companies the richest companies in the history of humanity

everything you do online is being watched, being tracked, every single action you take, how long you look at an image for; they know when you are lonely and when you are depressed, whether you are an introvert or extrovert, they know what your personality type is. they have more knowledge about us that has ever been known in the history of humanity. there is no supervision and they are just continually making better and better predictions about us. they build models that predict our actions, they build a whole online digital version of us, like an avatar voodoo doll. everything we’ve ever done, all gets brought back into building an accurate model about us, predicting what we will do next. what video will keep us watching, what images we want to see, how to keep us engaged. they are able to control your behaviour to an extensive length, that you can’t consciously grasp and that pretty much everyone other than these technology companies is unaware of

the very meaning of culture has become manipulation, deceit and mistrust has become the centre of everything we do. these companies know so much about the psychology of what persuades people, and then use that within technology. they learn how to make technology persuasive, it is designed intentionally to modify people’s behaviour. ‘positive intermittent reinforcement’ - it operates like the gambling shot machines. you are being programmed at a deeper level, you don’t even realise it and this is all within the design technique. these aren’t things you can necessarily decide to ignore, even in terms of tagging a photo... they don’t show you the photo they just show you you’ve been tagged which logs you on, facebook have used this to its maximum capacity, which gets people tagging left right and centre

its mass scale manipulation

50 white middle-aged guys make the decisions that have impacts on 2 billion people, causing them to have thoughts that they didn't intend to have, due to notifications and things appearing on the screens

we have evolved to care about whether people in our tribe think well of us or not, but we are not evolved to be aware of what 10,000 people think of us, we were not evolved to have social approval dosed at us every 5 minutes. we conflate hearts, likes and thumbs up with truth and value, for short hits of dopamine

if something is a tool it is genuinely sitting there waiting patiently, if something isn't then it is there grabbing your attention, taking your time away from you, it has its own goals and own means of pursuing them by using your psychology against you. this is overpowering human nature. we have less and less control over who we are and what we believe. we don’t trust anything anymore as we don’t know what to believe. they’re dragging people into this matrix and harvesting them to gain insane amounts of money

technology is an indirect existential threat, its the technologies ability to bring out the worst in society, which is the direct existential threat

a lot of people fear AI yet AI already runs today’s world, right now. “there is only a handful of people at these companies who understand how the systems work, and even they don’t necessarily fully understand whats going to happen with that particular piece of content so as humans we’ve pretty much lost control over these systems, because they’re controlling the information we see. they’re controlling us more than we’re controlling them” - you build the machine and then the machine builds itself. the technologists are framing this as a problem that they are able to solve. in terms of misinformation, AI cannot even solve the problem of fake news, google can’t either but most importantly they don’t know what truth is. we can’t agree what is true which means we can’t navigate out of any of our problems. and worst of all, AI is just going to continuously get better at predicting what is on the screen, not worse

you see different results depending on where you live, depending on your interests. they tailor your information to what you are interested in, the computers calculate what is perfect for you, so they create your world. everyone’s reality online is different, which has a catastrophic effect in realtime

how do you wake up from the matrix if you don’t know you’re in the matrix

“if we go down the current status quo, for say like another 20 years, we’d probably destroy our civilisation through wilful ignorance, we’d probably fail to meet the challenge of climate change, we’d probably degrade the world’s democracies so that they fall into some sort of bizarre autocratic dysfunction, we’d probably ruin the global economy, er... we probably don’t survive. you know, i really do view it as existential”

“whether it is to be utopia or oblivion, will be a touch-and-go relay race right up to the final moment...” - buckminster fuller

its simultaneous utopia and dystopia

“we live in a world where a tree is worth more financially dead, than alive. a whale is worth more dead than alive, as long as the economy works in this way, and the companies go unregulated they’re going to continue to destroy trees and kill wales, to mine the earth and pull oil out of the ground even though we know that it is destroying the planet. they know that it is going to leave a worse world for future generations. this is short term thinking based on this religion of profit at all costs. as if somehow magically, each corporation acting in its selfish interests is going to produce the same result, this has been effecting the environment for a long time. what’s frightening and what is hopefully the last straw, what will make us wake up as a civilisation to how flawed this theory has been in the first place, is to see that now we’re the tree and we’re the whale, our attention can be mined. we are more profitable to a corporation if we’re spending time staring at a screen, staring at an add, than if we’re spending our time living in a rich way and so we’re seeing the results of that. we’re seeing the results of corporations using powerful artificial intelligence to outsmart us and figure out how to pull our attention towards things they want to look at, rather than things that are most consistent to our goals and our values and our lives”

the attention extraction model is not how we want to treat human beings. we can demand to not be treated as an extractable resource

an interesting concept to explore within my project, looking at the 3 men controlling your notifications (behind the devices) who are experts in how to grab your personal attention; experts on you, they understand you more than you understand yourself. knowing your routine and how to catch you at specific times of the day, what will get your attention and what wont. they build up a digital persona of you, an ‘avatar voodoo doll’. how people have become digital counterfeits of themselves, how our data is collected, what it visually collects about us. facial recognition; face id to unlock iphone. exploring the structure of the face turning our body into a digital organism that can control the digital world... looking at fingerprints, other ways to identify yourself that is gradually being integrated within technology, which highlights how these systems have physical data on us, not just online interactions and locations

[rheanimalsachikokassielynn]

Major Essay 1

Rheanne Harkness

Professor Timothy Greenup

English 112

25 October 2017

All Sides of the Characterization Spectrum: Evolution Verses Devolution

 In the event that the average college student has taken even the most basic literature course, he or she should at least be somewhat familiar with and be able to tell the difference between three-dimensional characters, two-dimensional characters, and stock characters across a variety of different narratives - graphic novels being no exception. Three-dimensional characters (or “round characters”) may be traditionally thought of as the most important asset that a work of fiction has other than an engaging plot, atmosphere, or tone. After all, they by default, end up being portrayed as the most like real people, and as such, have the best chance of connecting with the reader on a deeper, more personal level, and audience identification can often be an essential part of what makes a story truly impactful to those who read it. No matter how much water this way of looking at round characters happens to hold though, that doesn’t mean readers of a particular work should entirely dismiss the roles stock and/or two-dimensional (or “flat characters”) play in strengthening its content as a whole - even if those roles are seemingly limited to serving as stepping stones that guide a potential round character as he or she goes through change. This begs the question: If both the flat and stock characters in a simple, straightforward comic like “Batman: Year One” only exist to help round characters in their development, are these same types of characters tailored to that same purpose in the more complex and formally depicted graphic novel that is “From Hell”?

To begin answering this question, there must be some semblance of comparison between the two pieces’ main characters and how interactions with other less imposing characters affect their motivations in the long run. In “Batman: Year One”, almost, if not every other character that Jim Gordon has ties to (particularly the few female characters) can be considered as more of a catalyst for change in his character than anything else. Take Gordon’s wife, Barbara for instance, throughout the comic, the reader never gets to learn much about her apart from the fact that she’s the supportive, pregnant housewife of his. Because Barbara is kept at arm’s length from so much of her husband’s troubles within the force until the very end of the comic and we only hear brief mention of the couple’s marital problems from Gordon’s perspective, Barbara represents nothing more than a stereotype, and thusly cannot be described as anything more than a stock character. But both her and Gordon’s unborn child are important nonetheless since Gordon’s desire to protect them is established as the driving force of his character from page one onwards. Sargent Essen is a representation of the “Femme Fatale” stereotype that’s seen so often in Film Noir; and again, the only bit of backstory we get from her is told to the reader from Gordon’s perspective in a single panel. She gives Gordon internal conflict to work through that works in tandem with the external conflicts he’s already facing. Three-dimensional characters are expected to have moments of weakness in their convictions. So, by having Essen as the vehicle through which Gordon deals with that weakness by having him torn between two places, (his obligation to his family and his newfound feelings for her) it makes the reader want to keep following him on his “Hero’s Journey” as well as call into question just how far he’s willing to go in order to do what’s right, as he himself isn’t so sure anymore - much like an actual human being might feel in the same situation.

If Lieutenant Gordon is the most prominent three-dimensional character from Frank Miller’s “Batman: Year One”, the most prominent round character from Alan Moore’s “From Hell” would be Doctor William Gull. Gull by contrast, doesn’t let other characters define who he is as one could argue for Gordon, (unless of course, the historical figures that Gull reveres so much - like William Blake and Nicholas Hawksmoor, are taken into account). It is seemingly established just how deep-seated Gull’s lack of empathy towards his fellow man really is from the first moment we see him purely out of plot convenience without any residual reason for it that wouldn’t have to be inferred by the readers on their own. To this effect, the essence of Gull’s character could simply be chopped up to his profession, in that many doctors do experience a loss of empathy while experimenting on human bodies for medical benefit; on top of which, he’d taken to dissecting animals (as is elaborately showcased in several disjointed panels with a mouse on the grounds of Beaumont Rectory) out of mere curiosity long before becoming a doctor in his adult life (Campbell Ch 2 p 6).

This aspect of Gull’s identity is significant and does give the audience some insight as to why he might and would eventually take on the “Jack the Ripper” persona. However, I don’t think that just being an emotionally detached doctor is enough to account for every facet of Gull’s character as much it sets the groundwork for those facets overall. Considering Gull’s long-dead heroes to be actual characters doesn’t feel terribly practical. So, it’s probably safe to assume that Gull has been shaped as a person by what he’s been exposed to more than who he’s been exposed to. The only time Gull lets others influence his actions at all is when they come into conflict with what he believes or stands for - like the whole reason he is committing these murders in Whitechapel to begin with. Gull is a firm proponent of the notion that men are superior to women, so the closer he gets to disposing of all these filthy prostitutes and by extension, fulfilling what he feels to be his divine purpose in life and throughout history, the more savage and less methodical the killings themselves become. It’s only when Gull briefly travels to the future a second time (in a purely non-character-driven plot point) and is so disillusioned by what he finds that he begins to lose heart with what he’s done. Up until then, though, Gull knew exactly who he was and what he wanted. Any other character who observed him (round, flat, or stock) could only do just that, observe and offer nothing (even unconsciously) that could sway him of his convictions whatsoever.

Conversely, what puts a major rift between “Batman: Year One” and “From Hell” in terms of how the protagonists can be thought of as round would be that Gull does not evolve as a character so much as he has devolved by the time his role in the story finally reaches its end. Nowhere does this erosion become more apparent than directly after Gull travels to what would have been the present day at the time this novel was written. More specifically, at the point where Gull takes the heart of the women who may or may not have been Mary Kelly out of the fireplace hearth and watches it burn on the tip of his surgical knife, a look of wistful melancholia has dawned his face, as if to say that only for a moment, even he realizes how empty and fruitless his endeavors toward any sort of divinity through murder truly were on principal. Although, of course, Gull would never dare admit it to anyone - least of all himself (Campbell Ch 10 p 29). This single panel image is made all the more telling when one pairs it with what Gull declares to Netley across a middle row of panels a few pages later as most of his face is eerily covered in shadow, but with an air of resignation about it: “I‘m finished. I have been climbing...all my life, toward a single peak. Now I have reached it. I have stood and felt the wind. I have seen all the world beneath me. Now there is only descent. Only the valley. Would that I had died there...in that light above the cloud line.” (Moore and Campbell Ch 10 p 33).

The icing on the cake and its effectiveness at cementing just how far Gull has fallen afterwards is really dependent upon whether or not one believes that he truly did come close to ascending to Godhood just before death in an insane asylum at the apex of chapter twelve. Being that Alan Moore leaves the answer widely open to interpretation, I personally would pose the argument that his apparent journey through time and space was merely a series of fragmented illusions that play out similarly to the concept of a person’s life flashing before their eyes as they’re about to die. Only in Gull’s case, his life wasn’t flashing before his eyes, but rather his abstract ambitions and ideas of what moving on to a higher plane of existence might be like were. If there is indeed a grain of truth in Gull’s last words to Netley the night he killed “Mary Kelly”, then the image of a poor old man mumbling incoherently within the walls of an asylum and never moving past his unhealthy obsession with achieving historical/spiritual greatness fits much more consistently with someone who both literally and figuratively has nowhere left to go but down.

Ultimately, I feel that the secondary characters in “From Hell” did not aid in developing Doctor Gull as a character in the way that they did for Jim Gordon in “Batman: Year One”. This is because, unlike Gordon, Gull never really forged any deeply personal relationships with others that were impactful enough to dictate his actions. His life experiences as a self-righteous doctor as well as a time traveler deprived him of the ability to genuinely empathize with the people around him. Thus, those experiences were consequently the only thing left to propel him through his journey and eventual derailment that awaits Gull at the end of the story. Every action of Gordon’s by contrast was performed for the sake of the people he cared about. Regardless of how uninteresting these flat and stock characters may have been to the audience, it’s no wonder that their existence as Gordon’s driving motivation made for such a relatable protagonist who we want to see rise above the challenges his environment has set for him by the time his story concludes. As far as Gull is concerned, he isn’t meant to be a relatable protagonist as much as the complete opposite. So, if the flat and stock characters aid him at all, it’s to mirror the audience members’ impressions of him (which are mostly rooted in fear, intimidation, curiosity, respect, and annoyance). I suppose in this way, if some characters need not be three-dimensional to be effective, one could also say that they need not be at the forefront of the round character’s main concerns for he or she to go through intended changes set in place by the author of the story either - still being just as effective, but in a different way!

Works Cited

Hamilton, Sharon. “Characterization.” Essential Literary Terms, Second Edition. Norton, 2017, p. 136.

Miller, Frank and David Mazzucchelli. Batman: Year One. DC Comics, 2005.

Moore, Alan and Eddie Campbell. From Hell. Top Shelf Productions, 2014.

[cakandivali]

Why tech CEOs are in love with doomsayers

Latest Updates - M. N. & Associates - By Nellie BowlesFuturist philosopher Yuval Noah Harari worries about a lot.He worries that Silicon Valley is undermining democracy and ushering in a dystopian hellscape in which voting is obsolete.He worries that by creating powerful influence machines to control billions of minds, the big tech companies are destroying the idea of a sovereign individual with free will.He worries that because the technological revolution’s work requires so few laborers, Silicon Valley is creating a tiny ruling class and a teeming, furious “useless class.”But lately, Harari is anxious about something much more personal. If this is his harrowing warning, then why do Silicon Valley CEOs love him so?“One possibility is that my message is not threatening to them, and so they embrace it?” a puzzled Harari said one afternoon in October. “For me, that’s more worrying. Maybe I’m missing something?”When Harari toured the Bay Area this fall to promote his latest book, the reception was incongruously joyful. Reed Hastings, chief executive of Netflix, threw him a dinner party. The leaders of X, Alphabet’s secretive research division, invited Harari over. Bill Gates reviewed the book (“Fascinating” and “such a stimulating writer”) in The New York Times.“I’m interested in how Silicon Valley can be so infatuated with Yuval, which they are — it’s insane he’s so popular, they’re all inviting him to campus — yet what Yuval is saying undermines the premise of the advertising- and engagement-based model of their products,” said Tristan Harris, Google’s former in-house design ethicist and a co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology.Part of the reason might be that Silicon Valley, at a certain level, is not optimistic on the future of democracy. The more of a mess Washington becomes, the more interested the tech world is in creating something else, and it might not look like elected representation. Rank-and-file coders have long been wary of regulation and curious about alternative forms of government. A separatist streak runs through the place: Venture capitalists periodically call for California to secede or shatter, or for the creation of corporate nation-states. And this summer, Mark Zuckerberg, who has recommended Harari to his book club, acknowledged a fixation with the autocrat Caesar Augustus. “Basically,” Zuckerberg told The New Yorker, “through a really harsh approach, he established 200 years of world peace.”Harari, thinking about all this, puts it this way: “Utopia and dystopia depends on your values.”Harari, who has a Ph.D. from Oxford, is a 42-year-old Israeli philosopher and a history professor at Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The story of his current fame begins in 2011, when he published a book of notable ambition: to survey the whole of human existence. “Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind,” first released in Hebrew, did not break new ground in terms of historical research. Nor did its premise — that humans are animals and our dominance is an accident — seem a likely commercial hit. But the casual tone and smooth way Harari tied together knowledge across fields made it a deeply pleasing read, even as the tome ended on the notion that the process of human evolution might be over. Translated into English in 2014, the book went on to sell more than 8 million copies and made Harari a celebrity intellectual.He followed up with “Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow,” which outlined his vision of what comes after human evolution. In it, he describes Dataism, a new faith based around the power of algorithms. Harari’s future is one in which big data is worshipped, artificial intelligence surpasses human intelligence, and some humans develop Godlike abilities.Now, he has written a book about the present and how it could lead to that future: “21 Lessons for the 21st Century.” It is meant to be read as a series of warnings. His recent TED Talk was called “Why fascism is so tempting — and how your data could power it.”His prophecies might have made him a Cassandra in Silicon Valley, or at the very least an unwelcome presence. Instead, he has had to reconcile himself to the locals’ strange delight. “If you make people start thinking far more deeply and seriously about these issues,” he told me, sounding weary, “some of the things they will think about might not be what you want them to think about.”‘Brave New World’ as Aspirational ReadingHarari agreed to let me tag along for a few days on his travels through the Valley, and one afternoon in September, I waited for him outside X’s offices, in Mountain View, while he spoke to the Alphabet employees inside. After a while, he emerged: a shy, thin, bespectacled man with a dusting of dark hair. Harari has a sort of owlish demeanor, in that he looks wise and also does not move his body very much, even while glancing to the side. His face is not particularly expressive, with the exception of one rogue eyebrow. When you catch his eye, there is a wary look — like he wants to know if you, too, understand exactly how bad the world is about to get.At the Alphabet talk, Harari had been accompanied by his publisher. They said the younger employees had expressed concern about whether their work was contributing to a less-free society, while the executives generally thought their impact was positive.Some workers had tried to predict how well humans would adapt to large technological change based on how they have responded to small shifts, like a new version of Gmail. Harari told them to think more starkly: If there isn’t a major policy intervention, most humans probably will not adapt at all.It made him sad, he told me, to see people build things that destroy their own societies, but he works every day to maintain an academic distance and remind himself that humans are just animals. “Part of it is really coming from seeing humans as apes, that this is how they behave,” he said, adding, “They’re chimpanzees. They’re sapiens. This is what they do.”He was slouching a little. Socializing exhausts him.As we boarded the black gull-wing Tesla Harari had rented for his visit, he brought up Aldous Huxley. Generations have been horrified by his novel “Brave New World,” which depicts a regime of emotion control and painless consumption. Readers who encounter the book today, Harari said, often think it sounds great. “Everything is so nice, and in that way it is an intellectually disturbing book because you’re really hard-pressed to explain what’s wrong with it,” he said. “And you do get today a vision coming out of some people in Silicon Valley which goes in that direction.”An Alphabet media relations manager later reached out to Harari’s team to tell him to tell me that the visit to X was not allowed to be part of this story. The request confused and then amused Harari. It is interesting, he said, that unlike politicians, tech companies do not need a free press, since they already control the means of message distribution.He said he had resigned himself to tech executives’ global reign, pointing out how much worse the politicians are. “I’ve met a number of these high-tech giants, and generally they’re good people,” he said. “They’re not Attila the Hun. In the lottery of human leaders, you could get far worse.”Some of his tech fans, he thinks, come to him out of anxiety. “Some may be very frightened of the impact of what they are doing,” Harari said.Still, their enthusiastic embrace of his work makes him uncomfortable. “It’s just a rule of thumb in history that if you are so much coddled by the elites it must mean that you don’t want to frighten them,” Harari said. “They can absorb you. You can become the intellectual entertainment.”Dinner, With a Side of Medically Engineered ImmortalityCEO testimonials to Harari’s acumen are indeed not hard to come by. “I’m drawn to Yuval for his clarity of thought,” Jack Dorsey, the head of Twitter and Square, wrote in an email, going on to praise a particular chapter on meditation.And Hastings wrote: “Yuval’s the anti-Silicon Valley persona — he doesn’t carry a phone and he spends a lot of time contemplating while off the grid. We see in him who we wish we were.” He added, “His thinking on AI and biotech in his new book pushes our understanding of the dramas to unfold.”At the dinner Hastings co-hosted, academics and industry leaders debated the dangers of data collection, and to what degree longevity therapies will extend the human life span. (Harari has written that the ruling class will vastly outlive the useless.) “That evening was small, but could be magnified to symbolize his impact in the heart of Silicon Valley,” said Fei-Fei Li, an artificial intelligence expert who pushed internally at Google to keep secret the company’s efforts to process military drone footage for the Pentagon. “His book has that ability to bring these people together at a table, and that is his contribution.”A few nights earlier, Harari spoke to a sold-out theater of 3,500 in San Francisco. One ticket-holder walking in, an older man, told me it was brave and honest for Harari to use the term “useless class.”The author was paired for discussion with the prolific intellectual Sam Harris, who strode onstage in a gray suit and well-starched white button-down. Harari was less at ease, in a loose suit that crumpled around him, his hands clasped in his lap as he sat deep in his chair. But as he spoke about meditation — Harari spends two hours each day and two months each year in silence — he became commanding. In a region where self-optimization is paramount and meditation is a competitive sport, Harari’s devotion confers hero status.He told the audience that free will is an illusion, and that human rights are just a story we tell ourselves. Political parties, he said, might not make sense anymore. He went on to argue that the liberal world order has relied on fictions like “the customer is always right” and “follow your heart,” and that these ideas no longer work in the age of artificial intelligence, when hearts can be manipulated at scale.Everyone in Silicon Valley is focused on building the future, Harari continued, while most of the world’s people are not even needed enough to be exploited. “Now you increasingly feel that there are all these elites that just don’t need me,” he said. “And it’s much worse to be irrelevant than to be exploited.”The useless class he describes is uniquely vulnerable. “If a century ago you mounted a revolution against exploitation, you knew that when bad comes to worse, they can’t shoot all of us because they need us,” he said, citing army service and factory work.Now it is becoming less clear why the ruling elite would not just kill the new useless class. “You’re totally expendable,” he told the audience.This, Harari told me later, is why Silicon Valley is so excited about the concept of universal basic income, or stipends paid to people regardless of whether they work. The message is: “We don’t need you. But we are nice, so we’ll take care of you.”On Sept. 14, he published an essay in The Guardian assailing another old trope — that “the voter knows best.”“If humans are hackable animals, and if our choices and opinions don’t reflect our free will, what should the point of politics be?” he wrote. “How do you live when you realize ... that your heart might be a government agent, that your amygdala might be working for Putin, and that the next thought that emerges in your mind might well be the result of some algorithm that knows you better than you know yourself? These are the most interesting questions humanity now faces.”‘OK, So Maybe Humankind Is Going to Disappear’Harari and his husband, Itzik Yahav, who is also his manager, rented a small house in Mountain View for their visit, and one morning I found them there making oatmeal. Harari observed that as his celebrity in Silicon Valley has risen, tech fans have focused on his lifestyle.“Silicon Valley was already kind of a hotbed for meditation and yoga and all these things,” he said. “And one of the things that made me kind of more popular and palatable is that I also have this bedrock.” He was wearing an old sweatshirt and denim track pants. His voice was quiet, but he gestured widely, waving his hands, hitting a jar of spatulas.Harari grew up in Kiryat Ata, near Haifa, and his father worked in the arms industry. His mother, who worked in office administration, now volunteers for her son handling his mail; he gets about 1,000 messages a week. Yahav’s mother is their accountant.Most days, Harari doesn’t use an alarm clock, and wakes up between 6:30 and 8:30 a.m., then meditates and has a cup of tea. He works until 4 or 5 p.m., then does another hour of meditation, followed by an hourlong walk, maybe a swim, and then TV with Yahav.The two met 16 years ago through the dating site Check Me Out. “We are not big believers in falling in love,” Harari said. “It was more a rational choice.”“We met each other and we thought, ‘OK, we’re — OK, let’s move in with each other,’ ” Yahav said.Yahav became Harari’s manager. During the period when English-language publishers were cool on the commercial viability of “Sapiens” — thinking it too serious for the average reader and not serious enough for the scholars — Yahav persisted, eventually landing the Jerusalem-based agent Deborah Harris. One day when Harari was away meditating, Yahav and Harris finally sold it at auction to Random House in London.Today, they have a team of eight based in Tel Aviv working on Harari’s projects. Director Ridley Scott and documentarian Asif Kapadia are adapting “Sapiens” into a TV show, and Harari is working on children’s books to reach a broader audience.Yahav used to meditate, but has recently stopped. “It was too hectic,” he said while folding laundry. “I couldn’t get this kind of huge success and a regular practice.” Harari remains dedicated.“If it were only up to him, he would be a monk in a cave, writing things and never getting his hair cut,” Yahav said, looking at his husband. “Can I tell that story?”Harari said no.“On our first meeting,” Yahav said, “he had cut his hair by himself. And it was a very bad job.”The couple are vegan, and Harari is particularly sensitive to animals. He identified the sweatshirt he was wearing as one he got just before one of his dogs died. Yahav cut in to ask if he could tell another story; Harari seemed to know exactly what he meant, and said absolutely not.“In the middle of the night,” Yahav said, “when there is a mosquito, he will catch him and take him out.”Being gay, Harari said, has helped his work — it set him apart to study culture more clearly because it made him question the dominant stories of his own conservative Jewish society. “If society got this thing wrong, who guarantees it didn’t get everything else wrong as well?” he said.“If I was a superhuman, my superpower would be detachment,” Harari added. “OK, so maybe humankind is going to disappear — OK, let’s just observe.”For fun, the couple watches TV. It is their primary hobby and topic of conversation, and Yahav said it was the only thing from which Harari is not detached.They just finished “Dear White People,” and they loved the Australian series “Please Like Me.” That night, they had plans to either meet Facebook executives at company headquarters or watch the YouTube show “Cobra Kai.”Harari left Silicon Valley the next weekend. Soon, in December, he will enter an ashram outside Mumbai, India, for another 60 days of silence. Chartered Accountant For consultng. Contact Us: http://bit.ly/bombay-ca

[tekmodetech]

‘Last Jedi’ breakout star on escaping stereotyping, Rose’s future

889211060.jpg LOS ANGELES, CA – DECEMBER 09: Actors John Boyega (L) and Kelly Marie Tran at Star Wars: The Final Jedi Premiere at The Shrine Auditorium on December 9, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photograph by Jesse Grant/Getty Photos for Disney)(Photograph: Getty Photos for Disney)

After years spent chasing the Hollywood dream and hustling for small components in movie and TV, Kelly Marie Tran scored the function of a lifetime when she was forged as Rose Tico, a spunky Resistance mechanic turned brave insurgent fighter in Rian Johnson’s “Star Wars: The Final Jedi.”

Roles like Rose Tico are a rarity in Hollywood, the place Tran, the daughter of Vietnamese immigrants, fought her approach in from the surface, gravitating towards comedy and improv. She discovered herself studying for one stereotypical supporting function after one other – till Johnson, casting inclusively to think about actresses of all backgrounds, provided her the half after an intensive auditioning course of.

“I had resigned myself to pondering that sooner or later I might be simply the bizarre aspect character who all the time talks about being Asian and brings kimchi to the occasion,” mentioned the bubbly San Diego native Tran, 28, who brings charismatic enthusiasm and resolve to each scene-stealing second as Rose, becoming a member of returning stars Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill.

From crying joyful tears on the crimson carpet, to purchasing her personal motion figures, Tran has change into the breakout star of “The Final Jedi” and endeared herself to followers throughout the globe whereas blazing a path for inclusion within the galaxy as the primary Asian American lady to play a significant function within the 40-year-old “Star Wars” franchise.

Followers are clamoring, too, to know extra about Rose and her sister Paige, a Resistance gunner performed briefly however memorably in “The Final Jedi” by Vietnamese actress Veronica Ngo.

Again house in Los Angeles after touring internationally to launch the most important movie of her profession, Tran chatted about her emotional “Star Wars” expertise, how her life has modified and extra.

(Warning: This interview contains minor plot spoilers from “The Final Jedi.”)

QUESTION: You hit the L.A. premiere of “The Final Jedi,” the London premiere, and now you’re lastly house for a bit. How are you feeling?

ANSWER: I’m good! I had a dental cleansing this morning so I’m feeling very recent. (Laughs)

Q: Dental work! I respect your dedication to getting necessary duties performed earlier than the closing of the 12 months. What have you ever been doing to get again to regular?

A: I went to the ArcLight yesterday and noticed three motion pictures on my own. It was superior. I noticed “Form of Water,” which I freaking cherished. I noticed “I, Tonya,” which I additionally cherished. After which I noticed … “(The Final) Jedi,” as a result of it’s actually bizarre to look at your self, and I need to watch it sufficient to the purpose the place I can neglect it’s me. I’m having a tough time doing that in the intervening time.

Q: You went … by your self?

A: Yeah, dude! I really like watching motion pictures on my own! That is going to sound insane, as a result of we simply did this superior press tour, however by way of my life – yeah, I did that, however apart from that every little thing is so regular. I assumed for some time, “Oh, man, am I going to be apprehensive about leaving the home?” And I’m like, “No!” I went and nobody observed, and it was nice.

Q: Rian Johnson says that components of your persona made their approach into the Rose we see on-screen. How a lot of your self do you see in her?

A: I don’t know that I knew that was occurring! Rian was all the time so beneficiant by way of his potential to make all people really feel snug, and John Boyega, who I’ve probably the most scenes with, was really easy to work with. You get the preliminary script, after which issues form of change right here and there, however the entire thing is that this form of mushy collaboration, which I really like. That was my favourite factor about it as a result of I got here from the TV world, the place I might have one line right here and there and it was, “Say your line and in the event you communicate the rest, you’ll get fired.” Out of the blue I used to be on this place the place Rian was asking me, “What do you suppose?”

Q: What’s it like listening to from individuals who really feel validation from seeing Rose on-screen?

A: I hear that so much. … I believe that’s why I get so emotional – as a result of I understand how unattainable that is. It’s not simply because it’s onerous to be an actor, which it’s while you’re first beginning, particularly in case your mother and father are from a special world and also you didn’t develop up within the leisure business. It simply appears so distant. It appears really, utterly unattainable. Every time I speak about this I believe, “Man, I want I didn’t have to speak about this” — that in 2017 there have been a plethora of several types of individuals writing and producing and directing and creating, and that we didn’t have to handle this. However the truth is, it’s 2017 and we’ve got to speak about it, as a result of we’re simply not there but.

As a result of I’m an Asian American, and each function I used to be auditioning for earlier than was form of this identical aspect character … . To have somebody like Rian write one thing that was so full and wealthy, and an entire human – I’ve by no means had that earlier than. I don’t know that many individuals of shade have that usually.

Q: The Rose and Paige fandom are actually very hungry to know extra about these heroic Tico sisters. How a lot of their again story did that you must know to fill within the character as you performed it?

A: We really had strains within the film that have been minimize out that mentioned precisely the place they have been from. So I did know their again story by way of that, however apart from that I attempted to make it as private as doable. Even when it wasn’t one thing that was canon, I made that relationship in my thoughts. I believe as an actor you create issues on your character that you simply suppose will make it extra private to you, as a result of on the day you need to just remember to’re really there within the second. So for me, I invented these items – after which I ended up doing this audio e-book and discovering out what within the canon is their true story. (Laughs)

Q: Rose has quite a few enjoyable and stunning moments, however the Finn kiss could be the most important shock of all. What do you suppose it means for his or her friendship and their future collectively?

A: I don’t need to create any rumors by saying what I believe will occur. However I’ll say that I actually favored the emotional journey that these characters went by collectively. It begins out with Rose seeing Finn as a hero and somebody who’s out of her league, somebody who represents every little thing she’s ever believed in. To have Finn instantly tarnish this concept she has in her head about him – which I believe is a bit of little bit of her personal fault, for idolizing any particular person — I really like the evolution of that relationship.

I believe there are numerous methods to be courageous and that being courageous and weak by way of a romantic scenario is without doubt one of the hardest issues to do in actual life. So for her to have that second the place she simply goes for it’s a large deal, as a result of I understand how onerous that’s! I’m excited to see what occurs with these characters.

Q: Rose additionally has a robust monologue on Canto Bight when she explains to Finn that exploitation and profiteering gas this lavish one-percenter paradise. How a lot do you’re feeling, in moments like that, that the “Star Wars” franchise parallels our actual world?

A: Regardless that “Star Wars” takes place in one other galaxy, a number of the themes and issues that characters take care of by way of classes that they’re studying are issues which can be utterly relatable to actual life. That second for me, the Canto Bight second – I’m getting emotional excited about it, as a result of I made it so private to me after we have been filming it — it simply feels so … particular. I’m hesitant to align a film with any form of present politics, however, sure — for me, it was very emotional.

Q: Are you discovering new alternatives coming your approach now that you simply’re starring in one of many greatest motion pictures, in one of many greatest franchises, in historical past?

A: Sure. I’m positively getting extra conferences and issues like that, which is actually thrilling. I really feel actually good about every little thing. I simply need to work with nice filmmakers and inform necessary tales. We’ll see.

‘Star Wars: The Final Jedi’

Rated PG-13; sequences of sci-fi motion and violence

2 hours, 32 minutes

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[uautoknow]

Budget Performance Mods

The biggest question I get asked, being the ultra automotive nerd that I am, is: What is the best performance vehicle my money can buy? And the answer is always the same: What is your budget, and what in your mind constitutes a good performance car? Mind bending speed? Sublime handling? 

That's up to personal preference, and lucky for you, you're spoiled for choice. In this article I take to the internet to find some modern, quick, street legal vehicles for less than $20,000.00.

What is the most cost effective way for you to get your license suspended, effective immediately?

For most performance nutters, the best course of action is to pick up a used car with a sweet handling chassis, and an engine that has some performance potential, and eek out as much performance as they can afford. This is of course the best course of action, and also the number 1 cause of headaches in males aged 16-65 (I made that up). As home tuners, our pleasure seems to come in the form of never ending suffering, and culminates to the eventual sale or death (whichever comes first) of our beloved, incomplete, and ultimately unreliable motor vehicle race car. I've decided to write this article to help save you some headaches. The vehicles I discuss either still have OEM support, or have a wealth of aftermarket suppliers. So, what is the most cost effective way for you to get your license suspended, effective immediately?

1. The Widow-Maker

This is a very common occurrence.

The first thing that comes to mind is the ridiculously bonkers '04 ZX-10R. No it's not a car, but it was the first ever production vehicle to be able to break every traffic law in America in 1st gear (174km.h)! It lead the liter bike category in terms of it's power to weight ratio, but has a notoriously light front end, making 3rd gear wheelies unavoidable. The bike was insanely fast, considering that it has been electronically limited to 300km/h. Good examples can be had for anywhere between $5-9000.00 CAD (less than half of our $20,000.00 budget), but also keep in mind that the fact that it's a hooligan by nature, and that vehicles like these have usually been driven the way they've been designed to - abusively. For the price-point, there isn't a whole lot else out there that can put up super car numbers AND boast Japanese reliability. Some things to consider about daily riding a motorcycle are outlined in this excellent article. Obviously the '04 ZX-10R is not in a league of its own, the liter sports-bike category is a competitive market, and newer more advanced iterations of all brands can be found in similar price ranges. All liter motorcycles boast licence revoking numbers, and if you're looking to have that happen, this is the most affordable and expedient way to do so!

For those of you who don't have the motorcycle buzz, never fear, there are some great cars out there, but if numbers like top speed, power to weight, and sub $10,000.00 pricing are your hot buttons, nothing will beat a sports-bike's performance for its dollar value.

2 Turbo Fun

Hyundai has become a staple name for bargain cars with great power figures.

Ok, so you're probably thinking I'd love a bike! The last time I went down down on one knee cost me a hell of a lot more than $10k! But, I've got a family, and my significant other makes me great tuna casseroles for lunch. How am I supposed to get my meals to work on the nicest of days, let alone the winter? And are my two rugrats just supposed to veg out at home, neglected?

The last time I went down down on one knee cost me a hell of a lot more than $10k!

No! What you need in your life is what we car folks call a "hot hatch!" There are of course numerous options, of varying price points, but in North America, we aren't as spoiled for choice as our European brethren. Check out this article for a comprehensive review of the budget sports cars in the Canadian market. Otherwise, you can take my word on the fact the Hyundai Veloster Turbo is a wicked little car for the money. It has bold styling, 200hp, and comes loaded with features like Sat-Nav, Sirus XM, leather, a sun roof. The list goes on an on. I found this 2014 model for $16,488, and it includes all of the above equipment. That leaves $4,500 in the budget for some excellent wheels and tires. They are fun, practical, cars and being front wheel drive they do make for excellent winter cars. Aftermarket support is high, as Hyundai have positioned themselves with several A-list brands, which is good to know as this greatly increases the likelihood of performance parts fitting properly (I for one, hate when bolts don't line up, and it has discouraged me from bolt on tuning). There is a community of support, you get turbo power, and Red Bull has opted to use the Veloster as its World Rallycross weapon.

In terms of options and power on a budget, this is a sporty car that goes largely overlooked. VW's GTI has reigned supreme in the hot hatch department for years, but the cost of maintenance begins to add up. The Veloster flies in the face of all the Hyundai naysayers that are found in any car community. The level of quality and attention to detail is comparable to that of Nissan, Honda, Mitsubishi, and Toyota. There are no ridiculously uneven panel gaps like you see on the Mustang, and the interior is stylish and quiet. Soft touch is in, and Hyundai obviously got the memo. It's more ergonomic and cleverly laid out than the Hyundai Genesis Coupe, the brands flagship sports car.

3. But 'Merican Muscle?

The 'Stang 4 Cylinder

That's right! It's time for the internet's favorite debate, import vs. domestic, tuner vs muscle. The American's have always had a way with cars. They're known for making sublime chassis and monstrous engines, but they have a very distinct persona when compared to their European and Japanese competitors. Going American is usually the most cost effective route to 320km/h, but typically this comes with a glaring downside... An inability to corner with speed and agility. Until 2015 the pony cars all lacked independent suspension, but Ford finally stepped forward and challenged the competition. The 2015 Mustang, in all engine configurations, is a blast of a machine; new ones can nearly be had on our $20,000 budget. The 4 cylinder eco-boost is comparable to the Toyota GT-86, and also the BMW 228i (surprised face). The Toyota may have an upper hand with a perfect 50/50 weight distribution, but the 'Stang makes up for it in power and a lively, loose rear end, so it's up to you to pick your poison. The BMW in comparison is soft and pedestrian to the snarling 'Stang, and the remarkably nimble GT-86. So the American's do have some car cred in the fun small cars (engine, in the Mustang's case) segment, but what about their bread and butter: the high displacement, roaring muscle car? The Corvette has been a staple Super-Car killer for some time, as has the Dodge Viper. Although their price-points are performance bargains, they are hardly affordable. And then we have the muscle cars like the Hellcat.

Smoke 'em if you got 'em!

Beautiful, luxurious, refined -- this describes the interior. Loud, brash, muscular, 707hp. This is the Hellcat we know and love. It's utter insanity. I'm told it can corner, although I've never seen one with enough traction to do it. If you'd like to see what it's like to own one, I was brought out to a Londonderry Dodgemeet, and captured this footage.

None of these are the standout American car for me, though. Yes there are some great bargains out there. In the used market a Boss 302 Mustang can be had for the price of a new 5.0, and Charger R/T's have come into the $5-7000.00 range, placing it right in the hunt with a 1000cc motorcycle in terms of price. Fantastic cars, great aftermarket support, and relatively practical, there is no doubt that high performance can be had without severely breaking the bank. The stand out for me is the one that smashed a world record, in Porsche's backyard no less, the Nürburgring. That's the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8. Early models can be had for less than $20K, and believe me, it does not drive like a lumbering SUV. It's much more precise than its fellow SRT8's, to the point that I would compare the all wheel drive system to the venerable Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X, and the almighty Nissan GTR. It certainly doesn't handle like an SUV, it is nimble, and light on it's feet. It's practical, can be had with DVD headrests, an amazing Alpine sound system, it has a belching V8 that puts out 470hp, and it's AWD.

4. Now I want AWD, but not an SUV.

Rally reigns supreme in the AWD world

Mitsubishi and Subaru are the industry leaders for budget all wheel drive cars, and the likes of the Lancer Evolution and Subaru STI are reserved for the hardcore enthusiasts. They are lacking much of the interior flash and comfort that the latter (with the exception of motorcycles) exhibit. Instead they opt for ultra stiff Recaro seats, and lightweight plastics. The electronic control units are highly advanced, allowing for torque vectoring and the ability to adapt to various weather and terrain. The Evo specifically has tarmac, gravel and snow modes that actually change the power distribution from rearward, to 50/50, to forward respectively. The suspension is stiff and rough, more so with the handling package, which includes Bilstein shock absorbers, Brembo brakes, and BBS wheels. All of this performance does come at a cost. These cars hold their value extremely well, a de-tuned version, in the form of a Lancer Ralliart, has a market value of around $23k (just breaking our budget) for a 2011 model. The Ralliart does feature the same AWD and engine as the Evo (only a single scroll turbo though), mated to the Evo MR's dual clutch transmission, but that price point is a far cry from the vast majority of pre-owned 2 wheel drive sports cars.

Ultimately, 4 wheel drive is a high demand feature in Canadian cars. It goes to show that as much as consumers demand luxury features, they are willing to pay more for the features that move them.

It comes down to your priorities, and ability to stick to budget.

When it comes to performance numbers on a budget, a motorcycle will always win. If we were to compare a $60,000.00 car (Alfa Romeo 4C for example) to a $60,000.00 motorcycle like the Kawasaki H2R, the car won't hold a candle to it, as we can see in this video, a 1,000+hp Bugatti Veyron struggles to compete with the Kawasaki in a straight line. Although motorcycles have a significant advantage on the straights, Guy Martin proves here that no matter how much top speed (and skill) you have on a motorcycle, the physics behind a car have a clear advantage.

IndyCar vs MotoGP

Whether it be a budget drag king, like the Dodge Charger that can double as a family car, or a sporty hatch like the Hyundai Veloster, performance practicality can be had for a similar cost to a 300km/h bullet bike. If you're in the market for something quick with AWD, the price tends to skyrocket (relative to the vehicles discussed here), but the practicality and year round fun that can be had in an all wheel drive performance vehicle is absolutely undeniable.

[classicfilmfreak]

New Post has been published on http://www.classicfilmfreak.com/2017/05/18/the-most-dangerous-game-1932-starring-joel-mccrea-and-fay-wray/

The Most Dangerous Game (1932) starring Joel McCrea and Fay Wray

Count Zaroff is an avid hunter, but exactly what he hunts is rather unique, as his guests soon discover.

Aside from both being horror films, King Kong shares numerous similarities with The Most Dangerous Game, released the year before in 1932.  Both are produced by David O. Selznick, then head of RKO.  Both are scored by Max Steiner.  Both utilize some of the same sets, most strikingly the large one for the jungle.  Both films star Fay Wray and Robert Armstrong in leading roles and a number of now forgotten supporting players, Noble Johnson, James Flavin, Arnold Gray and Steve Clemente, in minor parts.

The theme of The Most Dangerous Game, man hunting human beings for sport, is based on a short story by Richard Connell in a 1924 issue of Collier’s magazine.  Connell (1893-1949) went to Hollywood and quickly became a screenwriter, most impressively for Frank Capra’s Meet John Doe (1941) and Two Girls and a Sailor (1944).

Presented at least three times as a radio drama, The Most Dangerous Game first appeared as an episode of Suspense, September 23, 1943, with Orson Welles as the notorious man hunter Count Zaroff, and Keenan Wynn as the American big game shooter.

Following 1932, the theme of Connell’s story surfaced in, first, two films of sharply contrasting quality.  In A Game of Death (1946) an undistinguished cast, providing undistinguished performances, helps make a surprising dud for director Robert Wise.  Much better, perhaps even superior to the ’32 Game, with a few additional plot twists and a more developed love story, Run for the Sun (1956) throws Richard Widmark, Trevor Howard and Jane Greer into the jungle.  Now the chief villain is a Nazi.

In the next film incarnation of the man-hunting-man subject, Bloodlust (1961), it’s teenagers who become prey for a wealthy recluse.  Then followed John Woo’s Hard Target (1993) with Jean-Claude Van Damme, Surviving the Game (1994) with Rutger Hauer, Pest (1997), a comic, bottom-of-the-barrel take on the story with Jeffrey Jones, and, most recently, The Eliminator (2004).

In any synopsis of The Most Dangerous Game, it would seem proper, even necessary, to include a running commentary on Max Steiner’s score.  The music plays an integral part in the film, an equal participator, especially in the long jungle chase, where, with minimal dialogue, there is only the screen and the music.

The composer’s contribution here, coming in 1932, is early in the evolution of the extensive, nineteenth century style score that would, by the late 1930s and the further achievements of Erich Wolfgang Korngold, become standard procedure.  King Kong, made at the same time as Game  but released a year later, the delay owing perhaps to the time-consuming special effects required for Kong and the prehistoric creatures, has one of the first continuous, wall-to-wall scores in sound-on-film movie history.

Though music for Game occupies only about half of the film’s running time, the one sequence in the chase that lasts over four minutes demonstrates not only the competence and confidence of Steiner at this rather early stage in his film-scoring career, but shares a similar ambiance with the music he was simultaneously writing for King Kong.  The composer would not reach his artistic peak until he joined Warner Bros. in 1936, beginning with The Charge of the Light Brigade, his inaugural score for that studio.

The main title is distinctive for the great iron door, and, unfortunately, the rather incongruously shy hand (why not a dramatic, insistent one?) that three times lifts the knocker, each timid knock bringing a new wipe of credits.  First heard after the RKO telegraph-tower-atop-the-globe trademark is an ominous two-note motif on a solo horn, alternating with an uneasy disturbance in primarily the strings.  Rather than the door opening, there’s a last wipe for a listing of the players.

The sinister music of the main title segues into a contrasting, soft lyrical theme, reminiscent, seven years later, of Steiner’s Dodge City score.  On screen, it is night and a yacht is navigating a channel on the west coast of South America, guided by lights from several buoys.

The captain (William Davidson) is concerned that the location of the lights disagrees with his charts, but big game hunter Bob Rainsford (Joel McCrea) persuades him to sail on.  The yacht runs aground and quickly sinks.  After two companions are eaten by sharks, Rainsford swims alone to an island.

After wandering through the jungle, he approaches a fortress-like edifice and knocks on the huge entrance door (from the main title).  The door slowly opens and he steps into an enormous room as the score fades.  A bearded man (Johnson) behind the door pushes it closed.  Dressed in a white tunic, he doesn’t speak when Rainsford quizzes him.

Descending a long flight of stone stairs, a man in a tuxedo and smoking a cigarette on an extender says his servant, Ivan, is dumb.  He introduces himself as an expatriate Russian, Count Zaroff (Leslie Banks in his talkie début).  During World War I, the left side of his face was scared, an injury he adapts to his screen personas—for good guys, the left side is away from the camera; for villains, that side is toward the camera.  Here he openly refers to the scare—“this head of mine”—and frequently touches his fingers to the mark on his temple, a sign of insanity, perhaps?

Rainsford meets two other guests of the count, Eve Trowbridge (Wray) and her inebriated, blasé brother Martin (Armstrong).  Both, the count announces, were also stranded by a sinking ship.  Eve seems to subtly warn Rainsford that things aren’t right here.

In the course of the evening, the four discuss the fine art of hunting.  “Here on my island,” Zaroff says, “I hunt the most dangerous game.”  “Tigers?” Rainsford asks.  The count touches his temple.  “My one secret.  I keep it as a surprise for my guests, against the rainy day of boredom.”  (The last phrase is a bit uncolloquial, clearly a writer’s line.)

After Rainsford and Eve retire for the night, the count offers to show Martin his trophy room.  “I’m sure,” Zaroff says, “you’ll find it most . . . interesting.”  (First time that adjective was used so ominously?  Perhaps not!)

After almost twenty minutes of absence, Steiner’s score returns as Rainsford, from his bed, hears the sounds of dogs and a knock at the door.  Eve says her brother is not in his room.  The two creep downstairs, accompanied by stalking double basses and, at one point, the horn motif, now buried in the orchestral texture.  Inside the trophy room, they behold a human head mounted on the wall.  (Other heads and some gruesome dialogue by Zaroff were deleted after the premiere.)  The count, carrying a candelabrum, enters with two servants bearing, on a stretcher, a dead Martin.

Now Rainsford learns which game Zaroff hunts, that Martin was his latest prey and that the madman has shifted the buoys to strand ship passengers on his island.  By refusing to join the count in future hunts, Rainsford now becomes the hunted, provided with a woodsman knife and from sunset to sunrise to survive.  Eve, rather than stay behind with Zaroff, joins Rainsford.  The count himself won’t start “hunting” his two prey until midnight.

Rainsford first sets a Malay dead-fall or man-catcher, but Zaroff triggers the trip line with an arrow from his Tartar war bow, causing the dead tree trunk to fall harmlessly.

Next, a pitfall, with branches and brush over a crevice, fails to snare their pursuer.  When Eve and Rainsford slip into a fog bank, making Zaroff’s rifle ineffective, the mad hunter signals on a hunting horn—the two-note horn motif from the score, no less.  His dogs (Great Danes) are released, with Ivan holding the leashes to three or four of the animals.

Rainsford, at one point, sticks a sharp-ended branch in the ground, and Ivan is impaled upon it, leaving, now, Zaroff and only one servant in pursuit.

While most of the chase is music-accompanied, there are several long stretches where Steiner’s presence comes forth brilliantly.  He gives the brass an amazing workout, especially the trumpets; the horn motif is sometimes heard as a solo, sometimes buried in the fabric of the orchestration.  Much of the scoring, however, is standard action music, full of ostinato rhythms and various motifs in addition to the horn call, a montage suitable for any kind of chase, though nonetheless exciting.  Some classical music “purists,” whoever they may be, would denigrate it out of hand as, “Oh, this is just film music,” as if that fact made it an automatic negative.

The chase climax, in screen action and music, occurs behind a waterfall.  Rainsford kills the first dog, but Zaroff shoots and Rainsford and the second dog, locked in a death struggle, fall into the plunge pool of the falls.  With a dramatically lighted close-up with deep shadows, the count’s eyes glare as he takes Eve back to the fortress as his prize.  “Only after the kill,” Zaroff had said at the beginning of the hunt, “does man know the true ecstasy of love.”

The supposedly triumphant count now plays a waltz on his piano, a Steiner tune containing, persistently, the horn motif.  Soon after Zaroff asks a servant to bring Eve to him, he is confronted by Rainsford, who says he took a chance and fell with the dog; it was the dog the count shot.  Zaroff admits defeat, tossing the keys to the boathouse, but then pulls a pistol from a table drawer.  The two men struggle, accompanied by Steiner’s fight music, and Rainsford stabs his opponent with one of his arrows.  Even as Eve and Rainsford are fleeing in the motorboat, the wounded count staggers to a high window with his Tartar war bow, but dies and rolls out the window before he can shoot.

The small cast generally renders convincing performances, especially Joel McCrea, always excellent as the stalwart man of intelligence, and Fay Wray as the damsel in distress.  For the chase, her nightgown attire, hardly improper today, would have been deemed too risqué if the then in operation Production Code had been doing its job, though strict enforcement did begin in 1934.  There are no moments for an authentic romance between the two leads, so tied are they to the plot of their staying alive.

Armstrong often overacts, especially when he’s playing drunk.  It’s hard to know whether he is the standard one-note comic relief in a generally humorless film or a bona fide actor trying to be serious.  He may well be the weakest link among the leading stars.

Leslie Banks is the standout, if for no other reason than he, too, overacts, a little campy, but that somehow colors his identity as a suave, cultured villain.  His Shakespearean training, with the somewhat old-fashioned cadenced tones, is misplaced, at least in this case.  In Laurence Olivier’s Henry V (1945), he is relegated to being the chorus.

A MUSIC NOTE  –  For those interested, the excitement of both the film and the music may be “relived,” so to speak, through a NAXOS CD (8.570183), the only modern (2001) recording available of the Most Dangerous Game score.  The disc is highly recommended for the excellent playing of the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, the sound engineering by Edvard Shakhnazarian, the extensive notes by Bill Whitaker and a generous thirty-two minutes from the score.  Also included are forty-five minutes from another Max Steiner score, the 1933 Song of Kong, the sequel to King Kong.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DXLTw22HOQ