tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post7995154974430914424..comments2024-03-05T21:05:36.848-05:00Comments on CommentaramaFilms: Toon-arama: Justice League: The New Frontier (2008)AndrewPricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comBlogger76125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-92004251845289037012013-03-04T12:36:29.261-05:002013-03-04T12:36:29.261-05:00Alex, I've noticed. It seems that every time ...Alex, I've noticed. It seems that every time I see anything from the comic book world, they've made conservatives the bad guys (and usually often attributed liberalism to the conservatives).<br /><br />I agree with you that it's ridiculous to turn a white hero into a minority character rather than creating a new super hero. It really shows a lack of creativity and it's totally a statement of political correctness rather than artistic merit.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-28832851237610607892013-03-04T11:40:31.883-05:002013-03-04T11:40:31.883-05:00Addendum: Of course there are exceptions, a massiv...Addendum: Of <i>course</i> there are exceptions, a massive one being Neil Gaiman. Very talented writer. Personally, though, I find the Alan Moores, the Garth Ennises, the Marc Millars, and yes, even the Frank Millers, of the world <i>incredibly</i> over-rated. Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16946742995687817751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-54966149104564616392013-03-04T11:06:09.030-05:002013-03-04T11:06:09.030-05:00Andrew,
A lot of the stuff in comics ranges from ...Andrew,<br /><br />A lot of the stuff in comics ranges from minor (injecting political "commentary" and "jokes"--always denigrating conservatives and conservatism, of course) to overt (having the Tea Party be racist villians fought by Captain America, having Capitan American fight terrorists who took over a Midwestern town, but finding out that--surprise!--the U.S. government funded and trained said terrorists). Another Cap story was kind of intersting, the one where the Super Soldier serum was originally tested on blacks in experiments similar to the Tuskegee syphillis study, but it was kind of like, why? Why add that to the Captain America mythos? <br /><br />Other stuff is just so in-your-face and hackneyed, it could also be mistaken for just plain bad writing. Examples include: Gay superhero! (original Green Lantern). New Spider-Man who is a half-black, half-Latino! (nothing wrong with that, quite honestly, it's just like, <i>another</i> "dead" superhero? Why not create a <i>new</i> half-black, half-Latino character and, you know, be creative?), the government forcing superheros to be registered and Iron Man leading a faction of right-wing (!) characters in support of this (again: the <i>right-wingers</i> are supportive of this?!), a French-Algerian Muslim Batman! (again, why not create a new Muslim superhero? Side-note, Christian comic characters are either evil, or played for laughs).<br /><br />I stand by my assertion that comic writers are writers who couldn't hack it in other mediums. Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16946742995687817751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-69025834259886249012013-03-03T22:07:25.664-05:002013-03-03T22:07:25.664-05:00Alex, I don't doubt that leftists have ruined ...Alex, I don't doubt that leftists have ruined comic books, it certainly seems it from the outside.<br /><br />In terms of education, I couldn't agree more on all points. (1) I do think our system's real goal is to create employees, not educated people, and (2) I think education is absolutely vital for success. And it really angers me how often I hear conservatives denigrate education and go with this idea that someone getting educated is a bad thing. Conservatives are shooting themselves in the foot with that approach.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-74170004361714488712013-03-03T18:00:51.079-05:002013-03-03T18:00:51.079-05:00Andrew and Anthony,
Interesting that you call out...Andrew and Anthony,<br /><br />Interesting that you call out conservatives who denigrate education. I myself, having been to undergraduate school, graduate school, and law school, can tell you that the concept of education in and of itself is <i>very</i> important to a functioning society, vital, even. The problem that I, at least, have with it, is its <i>execution</i>. I agree wholeheartedly with Frank Zappa in that the main goal of the American education system is to create barely functioning morons who know <i>just</i> enough to get a job and become another cog in the system, while weeding out anyone who dares think outside of the box or question what's in the government-approved curriculum. <br /><br />As far as higher education goes, well, do I have stories...<br /><br />Anyway, rant over, tangent over, back to talking about comic book super heroes (I <i>knew</i> all of that education would come in handy!).Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16946742995687817751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-24659966379753245082013-03-03T17:57:13.238-05:002013-03-03T17:57:13.238-05:00As someone who used to read a lot of comics--under...As someone who used to read a <i>lot</i> of comics--underground stuff as well as the standard super-hero fare--I can safely say that the left has ruined comics. There was always a strain of leftism (see <i>Watchmen</i>, which, upon re-reading a few years ago after seeing the movie, I realized I hate. I can admit it's well-done, but I hate, hate, HATE the overarching theme and the ending).<br /><br />No longer can superheros fight evil and be good. No, they have to inject leftist politics into the stories now. I've long thought that comic book writers are writers who couldn't really write and couldn't make it anywhere else, and most comic book writers absolutely bear out my theorem. It's the same way that most rock "lyricists" really know nothing about poetry or structure. <br /><br />Anyway, given my experience falling out of love with the comic book genre--sad, really, since I used to want to work in it--I am not surprised at all about the political content in this movie. Leftists ruin <i>everything</i> eventually.Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16946742995687817751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-5177411938020614962013-02-25T17:36:05.951-05:002013-02-25T17:36:05.951-05:00PikeBishop, Isn't that the truth! That's ...PikeBishop, Isn't that the truth! That's the delusion though. These groups are made up of loser who want to believe that somehow if they could turn the world upside down and get their way, then they would be worshiped as heroes. The truth is, as you say, that they would still be cleaning toilets.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-12281325078863502082013-02-25T15:54:23.679-05:002013-02-25T15:54:23.679-05:00Andrew, as to the "us versus them" argum...Andrew, as to the "us versus them" argument allowing people to blame their failures on others is so true.<br /><br />I look at the militant blacks and the racist white skinheads on the other side of the coin and all I can think of is,<br /><br />"Dude, even if your "people" were in charge you WOULD STILL be the guy cleaning the toilets!"PikeBishophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05761380937971970762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-45573197154854857662013-02-25T13:35:12.849-05:002013-02-25T13:35:12.849-05:00Anthony, I don't blame Malcolm X so much as at...Anthony, I don't blame Malcolm X so much as attribute the idea's rise as a serious idea to him and his group. Clearly, what he advocated never came to pass. Instead, it morphed into this idea of separate but together with large doses of dependence rather than separate and independent. Personally, I don't get the feeling he would have been happy to see where things went after his death.<br /><br />As for growing up under institutionalize racism, I can tell you that I would be pretty furious. Would I still be angry 60 years later after most of those people are dead and their kids ended the practice and their grandkids show a lot of contempt for the practice? I can't answer that.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-4414350692039171262013-02-25T10:19:18.136-05:002013-02-25T10:19:18.136-05:00Andrew,
I don't think its fair to blame a guy...Andrew,<br /><br />I don't think its fair to blame a guy who is long dead and who lived in a completely different time for modern separatism. <br /><br />I cannot honestly say where I would stand if I grew up in the days of institutionalized racism. Would I say 'F*ck white people, the next time someone tries to treat me or any other black person like we are second class citizens, I'm greeting them with both barrells!' or would I say 'We are all Christians, and I will nonviolently resist oppression until the evil of racism is recognized by everyone!' or would I just do what most did, try to live within the system? I don't know. I honestly can't imagine being in that position. <br /><br />My father taught me to respect both sides, stating back when he was growing up under Jim Crow, both schools of argument (that racism could be violent deterred or that the better nature of America could be appealed to) seemed insanely optimistic from the perspective of those who had experienced generations of institutionalized, often violent racism. <br /><br />Also, it should be kept in mind that before the NoI killed him, Malcolm left that nutty cult and disavowed racial separatism.Anthonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16124128949343301445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-63036292709242648142013-02-24T22:49:08.325-05:002013-02-24T22:49:08.325-05:00Anthony, I don't connect black separatism to O...Anthony, I don't connect black separatism to Obama, I connect it back to Malcolm X. I also don't take it seriously except as an attitude. And the attitude is an "us versus them" attitude that is very attractive to people who have failed as a way to explain their failure. This is why the Hitlers of the world become so popular, because they give people comfort that their failures weren't their faults.<br /><br />With regard to this attitude, the problem is that I've seen it exploited my entire life when black leaders (political, cultural, religious) get into trouble. They scream racism and try to claim that they should be protected from whites and their crimes are the result of whites. This reinforces the ideas that keep the races separated and allow a great many blacks to avoid self-reflection because they can blame white racism or whatever for their problems. That keeps people from honestly addressing the problems of the black underclass.<br /><br />In terms of the black middle class, I agree. But I don't think that is where the problem is. I think the problem is in the black underclass, and the leaders (cultural and political) in the black community who play to them. That would be the same thing as if white politicians pandered to white trash.<br /><br />I agree that the primary problem is the disintegration of the black family. That is the thing from which so much else flows.<br /><br />I don't agree about the lack of mobility. Mobility is much more than people realize in this country, <i>BUT</i> you have to be willing to take the risk. 90% of people won't ever take a risk. Those 90% are stuck on the same path they start and won't move up unless they get lucky.<br /><br />You are totally right about the lack of high school graduates, and that's one reason I get so upset about conservatives who denigrate education -- something we even hear at the blog at times. Education is vital, there is no other way... not in the modern world.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-45226713791047050362013-02-24T04:58:12.509-05:002013-02-24T04:58:12.509-05:00Andrew,
Blacks' sense of community was hammer...Andrew,<br /><br />Blacks' sense of community was hammered in for a couple hundred years. Its not going to go away overnight. Also, I suspect the values of much of the community rather than its existence is the problem (nobody sane suggests Asians or Jews whose values have translated into a high degree of success, need to lose their sense of community).<br /><br />Quite a few conservatives complain about black separatism since Obama's election but that argument has always puzzled me a bit. Blacks have voted religiously for Democrats since the CRA. Color doesn't seem to enter into the equation (got 4% more of the black vote than Kerry). <br /><br />Also, the black middle class has been very determined to integrate (which they see as essential to climbing the economic ladder) going to white schools (post CRA there was a large move away from black schools to white schools), moving into white neighborhoods and working for white businesses (though the biggest employer is the government) rather than setting up their own (the big exceptions tend to be in the entertainment field). Less risk, but also less reward. <br /><br />I don't think the problem is black kids being taught the wrong values by preachers and teachers (parents are sometimes the problem). My sense is that the demise of the black family is what is negatively impacting education performance. Having one parent (a phenomena which doesn't merely impact the poor, but a substantial number of the black middle class) means a kid gets a lot less supervision and preassure at home to do the right thing. That doesn't automatically translate into failure, but it makes it more likely.<br /><br />My take on the matter is blacks won freedom in 1964. At that point in time failure or success was in the hands of the individual. The US doesn't have quite the level of social mobility a lot of people believe it does, so I don't subscribe to the notion that all of the poor are the deserving poor but clearly quite a few people are poor due to their choices in life. In addition to the facts you cited, I'd like to add that only half of black males are graduating high school at a time when most employers expect college. Anthonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16124128949343301445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-90556063517276068662013-02-24T00:55:21.258-05:002013-02-24T00:55:21.258-05:00Koshcat, I've seen it and that is very much wh...Koshcat, I've seen it and that is very much what you will find in that area. It's honestly hard to believe most of the "people" I met were real, but they were. And not one of them ever understood that they are causing their own problems... it was always somebody else's fault.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-41755454690740306442013-02-24T00:52:49.109-05:002013-02-24T00:52:49.109-05:00*find = like*find = likeKoshcathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00552108950848576633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-74331713222623065662013-02-24T00:51:36.173-05:002013-02-24T00:51:36.173-05:00Andrew,
You might find the documtary The Wild and...Andrew,<br /><br />You might find the documtary The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia. Very similar issue as Wheeling. My favorite part was when one of the members was going through the graveyard talking about this or that member died usually somehow related to drugs and he says " maybe our family is unlucky." : pKoshcathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00552108950848576633noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-67115544167703688702013-02-23T14:22:26.098-05:002013-02-23T14:22:26.098-05:00PikeBishop, I wish I could say you are wrong, but ...PikeBishop, I wish I could say you are wrong, but I can't. I saw it with my own eyes in places like Wheeling (which looks a lot like inner city Baltimore, only done with whites). They disdained education, they disdained anyone who tries to make it outside of being on welfare or disability... they bragged about "the crazy check" where they all faked being bipolar. They took drugs, sold drugs, stole anything that wasn't nailed down and then wrecked the things that were burned down. They stages slip and falls and fake car wrecks. They were openly racist about blacks "stealing our benefits." Most had been in and out of the criminal justice system for domestic charges, thefts, battery, and robbery. Most had multiple children with multiple mothers/fathers and taught them the same values. And everything they did was basically designed to make them less and less competitive for the future. They did, however, know how to use computers because they played internet poker.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-4247170735045173602013-02-23T14:10:21.818-05:002013-02-23T14:10:21.818-05:00Andrew: Now in seriousness. two points:
Check ou...Andrew: Now in seriousness. two points:<br /><br />Check out John McWhorter's "Winning the Race" where he details just how much damage the Great Society did to middle and working class blacks. Remember that in just about every major city, even places like Jackson MS and Montgomery AL, there was a thriving black middle class with their own businesses, banks and associations. Most of those inner cities were crime ridden ghettoes by 1975. McWhorter argues that all the Great Society did was "teach middle class blacks how to sign up for welfare."<br /><br />2. Its not just poor blacks that have been affected by the new economy. Its hit the poor whites equally as hard, especially in small towns, when the one decent paying operation moved to Mexico or India a few years ago. Go to cracked.com and check out their article at the end of last year about how "Honey Boo Boo" was one of the most important shows of the year (not good, just important) It argues quite effectively that the popularity of this show is just getting us ready for the eventual Medicaid and budget cuts as the HOney Boo Boos, and the urban blacks get left further and further behind in an economy where there is a shrinking place for the high school (barely) educated.PikeBishophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05761380937971970762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-848331568532563262013-02-23T13:48:21.558-05:002013-02-23T13:48:21.558-05:00PikeBishop, I'm all about subtlety. :)PikeBishop, I'm all about subtlety. :)AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-11454344294183829072013-02-23T13:45:37.712-05:002013-02-23T13:45:37.712-05:00Hmmm, I hate it when a reviewer is too subtle and...Hmmm, I hate it when a reviewer is too subtle and obfuscates his true feelings. I am really having a hard time figuring out what he really, really thinks about the overall quality of this work. (Scratches head)PikeBishophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05761380937971970762noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-1563710138523579032013-02-23T13:25:07.579-05:002013-02-23T13:25:07.579-05:00Anthony, I've never said it was just Johnson. ...Anthony, I've never said it was just Johnson. LBJ started the ball of dependence rolling. The Civil Rights Movement did the rest. And since then, I would say that most black politicians have made things worse by screaming "racism" every time they get in trouble, by pushing ideas like black separatism (either formally or informally like when they obsess about how evil and unfair America is and they claim the government "owes" blacks), and white journalists and white politicians have aided and abetted this mindset.<br /><br />Beyond that, I think the parents and the preachers and the teachers deserve further blame for teaching the ideas that breed dependence, such as downplaying the benefits of work and education and not teach black kids early on that they need to take care of themselves rather than look to the government.<br /><br />I see a direct connection between the welfare mentality and the destruction of these people's lives -- it's the same mentality which is now besetting low-class whites here and in Britain. They've all followed the identical path: get hooked on government money, stop working and start milking the system. This is followed by the destruction of the work ethic, destruction of the idea of self-improvement and motivation, unemployment, crime, drug use, and out of wedlock births to create the next generation in the same lifestyle.<br />AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-78340032957022737522013-02-23T04:30:34.117-05:002013-02-23T04:30:34.117-05:00Rustbelt said:
And I haven't forgotten all th...Rustbelt said:<br /><br />And I haven't forgotten all the great DC cartoon series. It was a shame when Justice League Unlimited came an end, as all the series were expertly tied together. I guess what I meant was that sometime in the last decade, the producers took a hard left turn and things weren't the same. Still, I'll take your advice and check those out as soon as I can.<br />---------<br />DCAU is still remarkable. Batman the Brave and the Bold was awesome. Like a lot of geeks I was uneasy about a comedic take on Batman, but clever writing, fun characters, good fight scenes and some truly insane cameos (Batman at one point teamed up with a WW2 tank animated by the spirit of a Confederate general) made it very entertaining.<br /><br />Teen Titans was a good show for young kids (not a label I would apply to a lot of the DCAU) which my daughters loved. If you want to see why DCAU rocks and comic books are shunned by kids in general and females in particular, look at the depiction of Starfire. In the show (which a lot of girls liked to watch) she was a powerful (but slender) character who had a sweet, awkward, almost chaste relationship with Robin (more characteristic of preteens than American teens). In the modern comic books she is statuesque and believes that the human custom of talking to people before one has sex with them is bizarre (of course, she has sex with everyone).<br /><br />Young Justice (a series who cancellation was recently announced) boasts some great plotting (think JLU season 2), good characters and incredible scenes (both fighting scenes and non-fighting scenes).<br /><br />Both DCAU and superhero movies are more interesting (and popular and influential) than modern comic books. Sometimes they are liberal, sometimes they are conservative (many of the DCAU movies Big Mo has named as favorites postdate The New Frontier) so even if one is the sort of person who values idealogy over quality skipping them makes little sense, but suit yourself.Anthonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16124128949343301445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-53917067503773438012013-02-23T04:03:57.003-05:002013-02-23T04:03:57.003-05:00AndrewPrice said...
Koshcat, I think that if you ...AndrewPrice said... <br />Koshcat, I think that if you look at the black middle class, there is no doubt they are better off today. They aren't oppressed by the government and they are much safer than they were under Jim Crow. But if you look at the inner cities, then you are right. Inner city blacks live in shocking conditions with murder rates that are worse than war-torn areas, wide-spread drug use, almost 100% single parents, massive unemployment, no education, etc. etc. Essentially, their futures are (1) prison, (2) killed by other blacks, or (3) a live of poverty followed by early death. So it depends on who you are looking at.<br /><br />And I do think that the best way to put it is that while it was beyond wrong to use blacks as slaves or to discriminate against them, the programs put in place by people like Johnson made things worse for the most vulnerable among them. Because of that, a real change of course is needed.<br />--------<br /><br />Hyperbole is fun, but let's not go overboard.<br />A murder rate of roughly one per day is pretty far from that of war torn areas or even some of the rougher cities. <br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_by_murder_rate<br /><br />I'd also say blaming just Lyndon Johnson's Great Society on the problems of the black community is stretching it. For example, life has gotten much tougher for the less educated in the West because of increased trade and immigration. Companies seek the lowest priced labour (reason # 2,214 why minimum wage laws are pointless) and many of them are willing and able to country hop to do so.<br /><br />The big problem black Americans have isn't the system it is the choices too many people are making (as Dr. Sowell has noted, culture plays a large role). If the problem were the system, it would impact everyone equally, but poor immigrants (of any color, including black) tend to climb past poor Americans (of all colors, but especially black Americans) quickly.Anthonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16124128949343301445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-79830755810970843632013-02-23T03:16:24.037-05:002013-02-23T03:16:24.037-05:00Anthony, I know some partners a big law firms who ...Anthony, I know some partners a big law firms who would disagree with that... at least with regard to their employees. ;PAndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-28019743121427779062013-02-23T03:10:59.226-05:002013-02-23T03:10:59.226-05:00Koshcat said:
From a purely economic aspect, a yo...Koshcat said:<br /><br />From a purely economic aspect, a young black slave 150 years ago was worth more than a young, uneducated, inner city black man today. Slavery hasn't ended; it just changed masters (liberal government programs). <br />----<br />I'll take your word on it, but its worth keeping in mind that people don't view themselves from purely economic aspects. A guy who wasn't getting paid and was routinely being tortured probably wasn't consoling himself with the knowledge that he was making his owner lots of money :). Anthonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16124128949343301445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7059293386881623259.post-20775594495522042152013-02-23T02:33:05.012-05:002013-02-23T02:33:05.012-05:00Rustbelt, Joel and the bots and the SOL were very ...Rustbelt, Joel and the bots and the SOL were very influential on my sense of humor and my vocabulary! As hard as this may be to believe, I can still quote large chunks of most of the films they did and I and my friends use their quotes all the time.<br /><br /><i>Iron Chef</i>... now that was a great show! (At least the Japanese version.)<br /><br />I think you're right about the idea of being edgy. Some people do it because they want to ram their ideology down other people's throats (leftists in particular) but mostly it's done just to get the mainstream media to pay attention for a while. Look at how the MSM fawns over the latest "shocker" -- gay characters, dead characters, renouncing citizenship, etc. etc.<br /><br />But the trap with that stuff is that the buzz wears off so quickly that you don't get anything out of it (except a damaged reputation) and then you find yourself needing to keep doing it because people come to expect that you will do it. And there are only so many envelopes to push before people start laughing at your attempts to be edgy.AndrewPricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.com