Politics - Episode 9: The Lurking Fear

[Ben No.3]

This is kind of funny, at least to me: https://townhall.com/columnists/kurtschlichter/2017/08/10/politically-correct-hollywood-is-doomed-n2365954

 

Edit: There's really no way to parody the left: https://yalealumnimagazine.com/blog_posts/2695-disarmament

The true reason for Hollywoods new conformity lies somewhere else. Why would they go all politically correct if there's no money in it? They wouldn't. So where does the money come from?

Look no further than the SAPPRFT, the State Administration of Press Publication, Radio, Film and Television of the People's Republic of China.

 

You see, China is a hugely growing market for Films. Think about it... there are potentially more than 1 billion visitors for every movie. And the growth rate of this particular market is impressive. If it continues at this rate, it will surpass the respective US film market by 2020.

 

Of course, China, being the One Party Dictatorship that it is, won't make it that easy for Hollywood. First of all there's of course censorship. The Chinese government doesn't want to see homosexuality on the big screen, it surely doesn't want to see politics, Chinese bad guys are a no go and violence is heavily censored. This has real effects... the bad guy from Pirates of the Caribbean 3 was cut, and Logan had to remove much of its fighting scenes for example (14 minutes in total). Alien Covenant even cut the cast majority of Alien scenes, leaving only about 1 minute screen time. And because the Chinese only allow under 40 US movies into their cinemas a year in order to protect their own movie industry, there's an incredibly high competition for those movies, so producers adapt their movies to the needs of the Chinese. For example, the wise woman from Dr Strange, who comes from Tibet in the source material, ended up being Nepalese. And in Red Dawn, every single reference to China was changed to North Korea post production; which was quite costly since China was the main villain.

 

So, if you look for the, or a big, reason why movies are the way they are; here you go

Edited August 10, 2017 by Ben No.3

[HoonDing]

[213374U]

I miss the Internet in 2001.

 

I miss the left in 2001. Remember when they were all about that class warfare?

 

 

[Orogun01]

Woke up, fell out of bed, dragged a comb across my head...

 

Lets see whats on the radar for this mornings dose of fauxrage:

 

Walmart apologizes for sign marketing guns as back-to-school items.

 

LOOK LOOK EVERYONE! WALMART WANTS TO KILL KIDS!

 

I wonder what glorious channer came up with that one.

[Malcador]

I miss the left in 2001. Remember when they were all about that class warfare?

 

Hm, not so much up here, the left seems the same for the most part - though I suppose that may change next election cycle. Every random prole online certainly has ruined the online experience though, maybe nostalgia talking

Edited August 11, 2017 by Malcador

[Gromnir]

 For example, the wise woman from Dr Strange, who comes from Tibet in the source material, ended up being Nepalese. 

 

quick correction:  the ancient one were originally an asian man in the comics, but in the movie, she were a celtic woman. 

 

is noteworthy that the change of the ancient one from asian to tilda swinton, arguably the whitest woman on the planet, resulted in significant negative backlash and widespread accusations o' whitewashing.

 

*shrug*

 

oh, and as an aside, the most annoying pandering to the chinese we has personal seen in a movie were the additions to the martian. the selfless and humanitarian chinese helped save the day in the movie version.  such scenes were not in the book.  clear were added solely to makes the movie more attractive to a chinese audience.

 

if am recalling correct, the recent ghostbusters reboot were not shown in china for the announced reason o' the depiction o' the supernatural and ghosts.  the great wall (or whatever it were called) with matt damon were a bomb.  as much as hollywood attempts to replicate success by reusing same old formula, it likewise avoids failure like some kinda misbegotten leper.  sure, am expecting a continuation o' the trend o' movies to throw an occasional bone to chinese audiences in the guise o' chinese actors and pro-chinese plot lines, but serious west-chinese film partnership may go into a kinda hibernation.

 

as to the original issue, diversity, in general, sells.  wonder woman did well.  as bad as were lucy, it also made money.  atomic blonde?  dunno yet.  regardless, hollywood has figured out that men like to watch hot women kicking arse. *feigned shock* the thing is, women apparently like to watch hot women kicking arse too.  ubiquitous supermodels in movies were offensive to women a few years ago, but female action heroes is somehow empowering?  whatever.  don't ask too many questions.  the point is we expect to see a whole lot more female action stars just as long as such movies make money.

 

oh, and moviegoer demographics does not match national demographics. compared to national demographics, a few ethnic groups is disproportionate more likely to go to movies. gotta be kinda obtuse to fail to notice how successful has been the fast and furious franchise, yes? diverse casts and terrible acting is trademarks o' those films, and yet they is universal's most successful franchise to-date. 

 

personal, am not caring 'bout diversity in movies.  denzel washington as don pedro in much ado about nothing?  why the hell not?  will give denzel washington the benefit o' the doubt 90% o' the time. bad acting.  bad direction.  bad production values. such stuff bothers us, but take some kinda source material and make a change to increase diversity while also acquiring good acting talent, then am not seeing a downside.  where diversity forces a bad actor or director into a project, then Gromnir grumbles, but otherwise... meh. diversity is good for the bottom line, so as long as it don't impact quality, we have difficulty seeing a problem. 

 

HA! Good Fun!

[BruceVC]

 

I miss the Internet in 2001.

 

I miss the left in 2001. Remember when they were all about that class warfare?

 

 

 

Oh I remember class warfare. It was as divisive, antagonistic and misplaced back then as it is now

 

You never want to be part of a narrative that can lead either intentionally or unintentionally to "us vs them " mentality. Its unhelpful to a more constructive and conducive positive social environment in any country or culture 

Edited August 11, 2017 by BruceVC

[Ben No.3]

 

For example, the wise woman from Dr Strange, who comes from Tibet in the source material, ended up being Nepalese.

quick correction: the ancient one were originally an asian man in the comics, but in the movie, she were a celtic woman.

 

is noteworthy that the change of the ancient one from asian to tilda swinton, arguably the whitest woman on the planet, resulted in significant negative backlash and widespread accusations o' whitewashing.

 

*shrug*

 

oh, and as an aside, the most annoying pandering to the chinese we has personal seen in a movie were the additions to the martian. the selfless and humanitarian chinese helped save the day in the movie version. such scenes were not in the book. clear were added solely to makes the movie more attractive to a chinese audience.

 

if am recalling correct, the recent ghostbusters reboot were not shown in china for the announced reason o' the depiction o' the supernatural and ghosts. the great wall (or whatever it were called) with matt damon were a bomb. as much as hollywood attempts to replicate success by reusing same old formula, it likewise avoids failure like some kinda misbegotten leper. sure, am expecting a continuation o' the trend o' movies to throw an occasional bone to chinese audiences in the guise o' chinese actors and pro-chinese plot lines, but serious west-chinese film partnership may go into a kinda hibernation.

 

as to the original issue, diversity, in general, sells. wonder woman did well. as bad as were lucy, it also made money. atomic blonde? dunno yet. regardless, hollywood has figured out that men like to watch hot women kicking arse. *feigned shock* the thing is, women apparently like to watch hot women kicking arse too. ubiquitous supermodels in movies were offensive to women a few years ago, but female action heroes is somehow empowering? whatever. don't ask too many questions. the point is we expect to see a whole lot more female action stars just as long as such movies make money.

 

oh, and moviegoer demographics does not match national demographics. compared to national demographics, a few ethnic groups is disproportionate more likely to go to movies. gotta be kinda obtuse to fail to notice how successful has been the fast and furious franchise, yes? diverse casts and terrible acting is trademarks o' those films, and yet they is universal's most successful franchise to-date.

 

personal, am not caring 'bout diversity in movies. denzel washington as don pedro in much ado about nothing? why the hell not? will give denzel washington the benefit o' the doubt 90% o' the time. bad acting. bad direction. bad production values. such stuff bothers us, but take some kinda source material and make a change to increase diversity while also acquiring good acting talent, then am not seeing a downside. where diversity forces a bad actor or director into a project, then Gromnir grumbles, but otherwise... meh. diversity is good for the bottom line, so as long as it don't impact quality, we have difficulty seeing a problem.

 

HA! Good Fun!

Additionally, I don't think the Chinese market will compensate a long time for the mediocre quality movies that are being largely produced right now. Hollywoods strategy seems to be "high production value, low risk". I don't think this'll work for any market in the long run; so hopefully they'll have to adapt and be more experimental.

[Guard Dog]

Grom & Ben's post remind me why I don't go to the movies and seldom watch them on TV. Oh, and speaking on whitewashing and cultural appropriation, this was an actual thing:

 

 

John Wayne actually played Genghis Khan!

[redneckdevil]

To be honest, wouldn't consider John Wayne whitewashing since most importantly he's got the face for it and in a very minor second is most likely related to him like most of us here

[Pidesco]

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/895970429734711298

 

"Military solutions are now fully in place,locked and loaded,should North Korea act unwisely. Hopefully Kim Jong Un will find another path!"

 

 

 

This is fine.

[Malcador]

Kind of funny how irrelevant that slang term is, was reference to the M1 handling. But it is fine, Trump is bull****ting as always and meshbacks love hard man nonsense like that.

[smjjames]

Kind of funny how irrelevant that slang term is, was reference to the M1 handling. But it is fine, Trump is bull****ting as always and meshbacks love hard man nonsense like that.

 

"Locked an loaded" can be used for anything really.

 

Usage of the slang term aside, Trumps saying that the military is fully in place and ready is a total lie (not surprising) and could actually make things more dangerous.

Edited August 11, 2017 by smjjames

[Guard Dog]

The only proper use for the term "locked and loaded" is in reference to a magazine fed rifle with a full magazine and a round in the chamber ready to fire. It was first used in reference to the M1 Garand rifle in WW2 and works with the M-14, M-16, & M-4. It could refer to a semi-auto pistol too I guess but I've never heard it used for that.

 

Any of the use of the expression, trying to sound tough, or bad-ass or in a state or readiness is in error. And a little infantile too.

[Malcador]

Ah had thought the lock term was something specific to the Garand (clearing a jam on one must be fun, thinking on it).

 

For Trump's next escalation he'll talk like Hudson in the dropship from Aliens

[smjjames]

The only proper use for the term "locked and loaded" is in reference to a magazine fed rifle with a full magazine and a round in the chamber ready to fire. It was first used in reference to the M1 Garand rifle in WW2 and works with the M-14, M-16, & M-4. It could refer to a semi-auto pistol too I guess but I've never heard it used for that.

 

Any of the use of the expression, trying to sound tough, or bad-ass or in a state or readiness is in error. And a little infantile too.

 

I'm sure you military guys have a different view of it.

 

@Malcador: Yeah, it'll be interesting to see where Trump takes it next. Though NK has reverted to their usual rhetorical playbook.

Edited August 11, 2017 by smjjames

[Pidesco]

The only proper use for the term "locked and loaded" is in reference to a magazine fed rifle with a full magazine and a round in the chamber ready to fire. It was first used in reference to the M1 Garand rifle in WW2 and works with the M-14, M-16, & M-4. It could refer to a semi-auto pistol too I guess but I've never heard it used for that.

 

Any of the use of the expression, trying to sound tough, or bad-ass or in a state or readiness is in error. And a little infantile too.

 

 

Trump, infantile? Why, I never!

 

 

And that the point, I think. Who better to lead a country with nukes than a childish old man who thinks sounding like an 80s action B movie star is a good idea.

[Wrath of Dagon]

https://twitter.com/RyanTAnd/status/895651901814915073

 

He's talking about the empty lower right quadrant.

[smjjames]

https://twitter.com/RyanTAnd/status/895651901814915073

 

He's talking about the empty lower right quadrant.

 

I'd like to see the methodology of how they did that scatterplot.

[Wrath of Dagon]

 

https://twitter.com/RyanTAnd/status/895651901814915073

 

He's talking about the empty lower right quadrant.

 

I'd like to see the methodology of how they did that scatterplot.

 

I agree. You shouldn't trust any kind of poll unless the raw data is available and the actual questions are given and methodology explained. Most of them are biased as hell.

[Gromnir]

Additionally, I don't think the Chinese market will compensate a long time for the mediocre quality movies that are being largely produced right now. Hollywoods strategy seems to be "high production value, low risk". I don't think this'll work for any market in the long run; so hopefully they'll have to adapt and be more experimental.

 

 

*chuckle*

 

hollywood has not changed their overall scheme for a long time.  has always done sequels.  has always followed successful formula with more pictures embracing formula.  has always been an emphasis on hero myth, whether it be swashbuckler, cowboy, religious martyr, soldier or superhero. is always folks lamenting the dearth o' quality movies from hollywood-- is mostly just noise from wannabe pundits. is as many good films being made today as were in the 50s or 80s or whenever. the long run?  this is the long run.  has been the long run for decades.

 

if you see changes from hollywood, is gonna be most related to the form the media takes.  technologies will result in changes to how movies is presented.  those technological changes will have unexpected impact on the content o' movies. even so, am expecting hollywood will always have an advantage insofar as production values is concerned, and with the larger investments involved in hollywood films, you will likewise see a tendency to go with content which has been successful since man first started telling stories millennia ago in fire brightened caves.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[injurai]

 

https://twitter.com/RyanTAnd/status/895651901814915073

 

He's talking about the empty lower right quadrant.

 

I'd like to see the methodology of how they did that scatterplot.

 

 

 

 

 

https://twitter.com/RyanTAnd/status/895651901814915073

 

He's talking about the empty lower right quadrant.

 

I'd like to see the methodology of how they did that scatterplot.

 

I agree. You shouldn't trust any kind of poll unless the raw data is available and the actual questions are given and methodology explained. Most of them are biased as hell.

 

 

https://www.autodeskresearch.com/publications/samestats

[smjjames]

 

 

Kind of funny how irrelevant that slang term is, was reference to the M1 handling. But it is fine, Trump is bull****ting as always and meshbacks love hard man nonsense like that.

 

"Locked an loaded" can be used for anything really.

 

Usage of the slang term aside, Trumps saying that the military is fully in place and ready is a total lie (not surprising) and could actually make things more dangerous.

 

 

Dangerous? As opposed to saying publicly that your country is NOT PREPARED for war?! 

 

 

It's called 'backing up your threats'.

[HoonDing]

[smjjames]

 

 

 

 

Kind of funny how irrelevant that slang term is, was reference to the M1 handling. But it is fine, Trump is bull****ting as always and meshbacks love hard man nonsense like that.

 

"Locked an loaded" can be used for anything really.

 

Usage of the slang term aside, Trumps saying that the military is fully in place and ready is a total lie (not surprising) and could actually make things more dangerous.

 

 

Dangerous? As opposed to saying publicly that your country is NOT PREPARED for war?! 

 

 

It's called 'backing up your threats'.

 

 

If the president of a superpower with the biggest military potential says their military is ready it's a credible threat however you look at it. Publicly contradicting that is nothing short of a treason. I'm surprised the media is doing this as they seemed to be fixated on the whole treason subject just a second ago.

 

 

Being ready for action isn't the same thing as having everything in place where you'd want them to be before starting a war, which was the point of the article.

 

I don't doubt that there are plans, the military has been doing plans and wargames for NK contingencies for decades, or that they can quickly mobilize. And things are definetly on alert now.

Edited August 11, 2017 by smjjames