One thing i see all the time on right wing sites is this obsession with "alpha males" and "beta males." All teabaggers see themselves as powerful alpha monkeys and all liberals and "metrosexuals" as their natural enemies (because they make friends with women and gays, i suppose -- don't trade with the enemy!) But rather than brag about their accomplishments, or anything they've done to prove their overwhelming manliness, they just hurl insults on the same level as your typical 5th-grade bully. When Ray Harryhausen died last week, they couldn't even hold a discussion on his FX work without someone chiming in "I liked Clash of the Titans, except that Harry Hamlin always struck me as a pussy. He wouldn't even know what to do with (actress who played Andromeda.)" It's just a reflex to them.
First off, i was under the impression that true alpha males were secure enough in their positions that they don't engage in such blather. Do Bill Clinton and Brad Pitt and Richard Branson go around giggling and snarking at people? Probably not. The true alpha shows magnaminity, class, tribal leadership. He is secure in his position.
...and that's if you're going by this biological model. And that's the most ludicrous thing -- the same tards who are obsessed with alpha status are the same idiots who quote scripture and profess a belief in Christ. They don't believe in evolution, but they apparently believe in applying primate group psychology to the human species? While declaring the next minute that they are souls totally separate from the monkey? And they glory in bullying and "might makes right" while simultaneously worshiping the Passive Prince of Peace?
These things do not compute.
Or, gosh, maybe they're just apes who use religion as another tool to claim their status, and naturally accept what they see as the predominant belief of their herd. Insider status good, outsider bad.
No wonder they have trouble with women like Hillary. No wonder they have trouble with alpha-nerds like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, or celebrities like Johnny Depp and Tobey Maguire, whom they call pussies -- they are in alpha positions, far more powerful than they are, but don't give off the domineering macho vibe that they respond to.
UGGA GEORGE BUSH GOOD. ME FOLLOW BUSH. HIM CHIEF.
Jesus Christ? What a beta. He was totally submissive.
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Sunday, May 19, 2013
Monday, May 13, 2013
Atlas Shrugged and then vomited on my head.
My friend and i are pretty much in agreement. Every other movie nominated for the Oscar is better than Argo.
One movie worse than Argo is Atlas Shrugged II: The Strike. It's even worse than the first one. No, i take that back... it's a little better, a little less disjointed and soulless. I have sympathy for the people working on the movie. They're trying, they really are, to make a coherent film out of this mess and on a small budget. They're troopers. Who can hate on Larisa Oleynik? It's just a baffling experience at first because every single cast member from the first one has been replaced. Most of the new actors look radically different from their predecessors, and it was a weird challenge just to figure out who the hell everyone is supposed to be.
I could snipe forever at all the corny bits, or mention the things they got right, but that would get boring. Instead, i just want to reiterate my broad indictment of these movies that i probably mentioned last year after i saw the first one. These films fail utterly if their purpose is to spread Ayn Rand's philosophy to the masses. Since they die a quick death at the theaters and are kept alive by DVD sales, i would imagine that there are lots of dedicated Objectivist right-wingers purchasing these movies and trying to expose their family members to the "message" without having to ask them to read a gigantic novel. First The Passion, and now this?
But these movies are impossible for the uninitiated to properly enjoy, because in Ayn Rand's insane world, every normal character archetype is reversed. Normal working-class joes are greedy bums. Soft-spoken preachers are vile parasites. The spunky working girl is a clueless dupe. Politicians who want to help the poor are insidious charlatans. Old women are prattling fiends. Children are little worthless animals... the only good guys are the ruthless capitalists who only focus on work and talk to one another about how much they fucking can't stand everyone else while cheating on their wives and drinking Scotch.
Visually, emotionally, it just feels utterly wrong.
It does not translate into our pop culture language. Especially when many of the actors playing the villains are just as charismatic, or in some cases, MORE charismatic than the actors playing the heroes. One character who is supposed to be the ultimate sniveling, weak-willed, bureaucratic sycophant is played by a tall, handsome, silver-haired man who projects charm. Meanwhile, the heroic genius steel magnate is played by a gravelly-voiced actor who looks like he ought to be busting kneecaps in a gangster film. It is... just.... bizarre.
Utter confusion is guaranteed for for any wife or husband or sibling or friend forced to sit through these movies. I wish i could hear more of the conversations that take place after these awkward viewings....
"Don't you see? This movie explains everything wrong with the country today! The government totally turned its back on capitalism. Capitalists and industrial leaders were expelled, shunned, made pariahs, and kept from having any impact on government policy. Rich people were enslaved and not allowed to make money, while the unions grew out of control, and the lazy lower classes glutted themselves with needlessly high wages and benefits. That's why all innovation was stifled and why we've seen a tremendous lack of progress -- especially in the tech world. Also, physically gifted, attractive, dashing people became objects of hatred and ridicule to make way for the worship of the mundane and mediocre. At every level of society, the intelligent and beautiful have been snubbed and cast aside, leaving the weak and ugly to run the world, don't you see?"
"Except, honey, didn't the exact opposite of all that actually happen?"
"Raaargh, you need to read the book! Then you'll see!"
"Does this Ayn Rand person at least promote Christianity? And family values?"
"Uhh... no, she was an atheist who hated all religion. And she loved abortion, couldn't stand kids, really. And she didn't believe in marriage, and was a huge amphetamine addict..."
"Honey, why do you like this person again? She sounds like a..."
"BECAUSE FUCK THE LIBERALS THAT'S WHY."
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One movie worse than Argo is Atlas Shrugged II: The Strike. It's even worse than the first one. No, i take that back... it's a little better, a little less disjointed and soulless. I have sympathy for the people working on the movie. They're trying, they really are, to make a coherent film out of this mess and on a small budget. They're troopers. Who can hate on Larisa Oleynik? It's just a baffling experience at first because every single cast member from the first one has been replaced. Most of the new actors look radically different from their predecessors, and it was a weird challenge just to figure out who the hell everyone is supposed to be.
I could snipe forever at all the corny bits, or mention the things they got right, but that would get boring. Instead, i just want to reiterate my broad indictment of these movies that i probably mentioned last year after i saw the first one. These films fail utterly if their purpose is to spread Ayn Rand's philosophy to the masses. Since they die a quick death at the theaters and are kept alive by DVD sales, i would imagine that there are lots of dedicated Objectivist right-wingers purchasing these movies and trying to expose their family members to the "message" without having to ask them to read a gigantic novel. First The Passion, and now this?
But these movies are impossible for the uninitiated to properly enjoy, because in Ayn Rand's insane world, every normal character archetype is reversed. Normal working-class joes are greedy bums. Soft-spoken preachers are vile parasites. The spunky working girl is a clueless dupe. Politicians who want to help the poor are insidious charlatans. Old women are prattling fiends. Children are little worthless animals... the only good guys are the ruthless capitalists who only focus on work and talk to one another about how much they fucking can't stand everyone else while cheating on their wives and drinking Scotch.
Visually, emotionally, it just feels utterly wrong.
It does not translate into our pop culture language. Especially when many of the actors playing the villains are just as charismatic, or in some cases, MORE charismatic than the actors playing the heroes. One character who is supposed to be the ultimate sniveling, weak-willed, bureaucratic sycophant is played by a tall, handsome, silver-haired man who projects charm. Meanwhile, the heroic genius steel magnate is played by a gravelly-voiced actor who looks like he ought to be busting kneecaps in a gangster film. It is... just.... bizarre.
Utter confusion is guaranteed for for any wife or husband or sibling or friend forced to sit through these movies. I wish i could hear more of the conversations that take place after these awkward viewings....
"Don't you see? This movie explains everything wrong with the country today! The government totally turned its back on capitalism. Capitalists and industrial leaders were expelled, shunned, made pariahs, and kept from having any impact on government policy. Rich people were enslaved and not allowed to make money, while the unions grew out of control, and the lazy lower classes glutted themselves with needlessly high wages and benefits. That's why all innovation was stifled and why we've seen a tremendous lack of progress -- especially in the tech world. Also, physically gifted, attractive, dashing people became objects of hatred and ridicule to make way for the worship of the mundane and mediocre. At every level of society, the intelligent and beautiful have been snubbed and cast aside, leaving the weak and ugly to run the world, don't you see?"
"Except, honey, didn't the exact opposite of all that actually happen?"
"Raaargh, you need to read the book! Then you'll see!"
"Does this Ayn Rand person at least promote Christianity? And family values?"
"Uhh... no, she was an atheist who hated all religion. And she loved abortion, couldn't stand kids, really. And she didn't believe in marriage, and was a huge amphetamine addict..."
"Honey, why do you like this person again? She sounds like a..."
"BECAUSE FUCK THE LIBERALS THAT'S WHY."
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