Why I will not Watch World War Z

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The book was written documentary style as a series of oral interviews of survivors a decade after the end of the war.  The result is a rich tapestry of people from all over the world, all different lifestyles, and different stories to tell.  Ultimately, this presents a critique on the flaws of our society and government today, with a vision of how things could be, even after apocalyptic conditions.  For example, conflict in the Middle East is resolved in light of the greater threat, the US forgoes its imperialism, and international bureaucracy and politics are virtually non-existent.
The movie, on the other hand, is reduced to the narrative of one person: Gerry Lane, a former UN investigator.  The horrors and experiences of an entire world are condensed in the body of a white, heterosexual, cis male.  We go from having vivid snapshots of individuals from around the world with names like General Raj-Singh, Dr. Kwang Jinshu, Nury Televaldi, Fernando Oliveira, Saladin Kadar, and Father Sergei Ryzhkov to Thierry Umutoni, Jurgen Warmbrunn (played by a white actor), Segen, and Tommy as the few named characters who are not white.
In the movie, the "least-white" area that our hero visits is South Korea.  (Don't even get me started on how the origin of outbreak was moved from China to Russia for fear of offending someone).  The other stops on his world tour?  Philadelphia, New York, Jerusalem, Cardiff, and Nova Scotia.  So not only are the stories of others written out of the plot, but evidently so is the entire rest of the non-white, non-US allied world.  Kind of hard to call it World War Z, eh?
What it really boils down to is that they gutted a wonderful social commentary in order to create a cookie-cutter action film wank-fest for dude-bros.  The trailers make it rather hard to see the zombies around the close-ups of Brad Pitt.  It's sad that they took zombie culture, really a criticism of society itself, in order to sterilize, package, and market it for what Hollywood thought would "best" and least offensive.  It's the undead eating the living.  It's meant to be offensive.

Shakesville's Fatsronauts 101

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Shakesville’s doing a wonderful series on fat-shaming and the myths people have about fat people.
               

Happy National Science Fiction Day!

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In honour of Isaac Asimov's birthday in 1920, National Science Fiction Day was created.  So go read a book, watch a movie, or play a game to celebrate a genre that has benefited us so much.  Don't worry, you don't have to be American to join in the fun.
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The Handmaid's Tale during the Spanish Civil War

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On my way to work this morning, I listened to this story on NPR. I was vaguely aware of the Spanish Civil War through literary and movie references, such as Pan's Labyrinth. As I listened, it was interesting to me from a historical viewpoint until they detailed the lives and deaths of the victims and then I was pissed.
Fascism promotes strict gender roles, yet one of the many reasons why the term "Feminazi" is ludicrious (because you know that wanting to be treated like a human being is just like invading Poland). The Franco regime freaked out about politically active women who should have been home, in the kitchen, barefoot and pregnant. Until a state psychiatrist declared that they were morally degenerate and therefore should not be allowed children. That's the excuse they came up with to take thousands of children away from these women, often just before their executions, and then raise them in abusive conditions in order to indoctrinate them into fascism and ultra-conservative Catholicism. And the Catholic church denies a long history of pedophilia. *Snort*
It makes sense in a twisted, inhuman way. You quell at least half of the dissidents by denying them visibility, restricting their sphere of influence to the home and being an incubator. But what about all the children that you want them to bear? Can't have them being raised by independent thinkers of opposing political ideology, they might grow into their own army! Criminalize the mothers and take the children to become mindless drones in your war-machine. It's perfect!
Then I realized that's what happened in The Handmaid's Tale. Women who weren't content to be docile housewives were forced to bear the children of government officials and/or outright prostitution. The children were then raised completely immersed in the tenets of the totalitarian theocracy.
It's one thing to read a critique of society, even one that hits so close to home. It's another to have blatant, horrific examples of it shoved under your nose.

Harry Potter Part of Zionist Conspiracy

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"A short Iranian documentary recently translated by the Middle East Media Research Institue and published on the Jerusalem Post's website claims that the teen wizard hero of J.K. Rowling’s best-selling books and movies is being used to promote Zionist propaganda. The five-minute segment (video below), which aired on Iranian news channel IRINN on December 15, shows clips from 2002's "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" while several commentators offer their explanations of the symbolism in the series."Now more than ever," the Iranian film's narrator says, "this tool serves to spread the dark and evil essence of Zionism and its goals."
The commentators point to several different elements of the story as evidence of a Zionist agenda - pointing to the themes of witchcraft and wizardry, which the documentary ties to Kabbalah, the study of Jewish mysticism."
There are so many reasons why this is a load of bunk. Many witches (real life, not Harry Potter) do use aspects of Kabbalah, but not necessarily the religious components of it. Harry Potter, however, really only uses European mythology and methodology. For example, the wands and riding brooms. You don't find those in Kabbalah, which favours the ceremonial rather than the "low magic" you'll find in Harry Potter. Granted, I am not an expert on Kabbalah, just somewhat so on witchcraft.
""[The Zionists] are trying to convince viewers that because there is no easy way to distance oneself from witchraft, Satan and the like…they are saying indirectly, 'Join us,'" says Ali Asghar Sa’adati, billed as an Iranian expert on religious cinema."
They're conveniently overlooking the obvious fact that in Harry Potter World only those who have the ability born into them can use magic, those who can't classify as a muggle (i.e. non-magic user). So we couldn't "Join them."
"The IRINN piece also looks to the battle over "pure" wizarding blood as evidence of a Zionist subtext."
Only the bad guys in the books and movies place an emphasis on "purebloods." The good guys generally couldn't care less.
"Iranian film critic Sa'id Mostaghasi, meanwhile, sees Harry raised up as a Messianic figure, and his final battle with the Dark Lord Voldemort as being akin to the End of Days."[The Zionists] support Harry Potter because he is the promised Messiah," Mostaghasi says. "As you can see, he has the same traits and wants to defeat a dark force, which in this film is depicted as Voldemort. In the sixth episode, there is even mention of the War of Armageddon."
That part is open to interpretation. I don't personally see Harry as a potential saviour figure, namely due to his character flaws and the fact that no One Greater Power gave him super abilities to defeat Voldemort. Then there's the point that he does not fight alone. The entire wizarding world is divided into two camps, but certainly does not affect the entire world. Some Christians argue that Harry Potter contains Biblical allegories. And us real-life witches have the biggest claim on Harry Potter. We could probably go round and round this point for hours, comparing Harry Potter to cultural folklore and practices around the world and you'll find some way to make it fit each one.
Ultimately this was produced by people who are out looking for boogeymen and will find them by dint of their own imaginations, and lack a true understanding of the differences in various magickal systems.

I love being a Witch...

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Because every time I start craving for the next book in The Hollows series, it's just about time for it to come out. It's like my spider senses are tingling.
Much better than Anita Blake, which is geared more towards 30-somethings and are really detective novels sexed up. And light years beyond Twilight, which is really the new Buffy for teens and early 20-somethings with no taste.
The Hollows has attitude, sex, kicking ass, and chock full of strong, independent feminine characters. It's not a love story in any way shape or form. Love is thrown in there in all its messy glory because that's how it happens in life.
I want to take Tonya up to Powell's for Kim Harrison's Oregon appearance.
From The Devil's Panties, who obviously has a slightly different opinion than I do on Twilight.


Sexism in Magazines

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Reave noted in a response to this rant that rampant sexism is expected in certain magazines and articles. That is part of the problem, by convincing people that sexism is acceptable in certain spheres it's continuing the problem. It's ok here, but not there. That's like saying that racism is appropriate, but only in the South. It's not ok anywhere.
To make it even worse, magazines that are women-oriented are some of the worst culprits! "Hey ladies, you need to center your life around a man! Bake and clean for him, but starve yourself!"
Some will say, "Then don't read it." If so, then they are missing the point. I have a zero-tolerance policy for anything and anyone who demeans me and my lifestyle. But if/when I spawn, I refuse to let the world continue as it is. Even if I don't, children being brought into this world deserve so much better. We deserve better.

Remember, remember the fifth of November

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"Remember remember the fifth of NovemberGunpowder, treason and plot. I see no reason why gunpowder, treason Should ever be forgot."

http://www.bonfirenight.net/

V for Vendetta

"We felt the novel was very prescient to how the political climate is at the moment. It really showed what can happen when society is ruled by government, rather than the government being run as a voice of the people. I don't think it’s such a big leap to say that things like that can happen when leaders stop listening to the people."
– Director James McTeigue

What are you doing this Fifth of November? I am gaming and most likely going to buy V for Vendetta.

The internet is the printing press part II

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Last night, a friend made the comment, "The internet is the printing press part two: revolutionizing the distribution and dissemination of information on a widespread scale."

I quipped, "Unfortunately there's no quality control."

He said, "Well, a ton of crappy books were printed after the press was invented."

"Such as the Bible?" (We were all Pagans and I was hopped up on caffeine and sugar, that's my excuse).

Someone else asked, "What about the Gutenburg Bible?"

He answered, "Ok, some of it was pretty crap."
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