If You Rise From the Ashes

Monday, May 17, 2010

Avatar

What did I think of James Cameron's new movie avatar?
1. It's awesome. The visual elements are awesome, the world is compelling. Nothing wrong with CG in SciFi.
2. It's awesome. The storyline is classic and awesome.
3. It's awesome. Technology and the biology of Pandora are awesome and detailed enough to be believable.
4. The entire character and concept of the Colonel sucks but everything else about the characters is awesome.

This movie is so... omnipotent. The first half is very much a reflection of the avatar syndrome. It has mecha. It has a new, interesting world rendered in incredible detail that is still similar to earth - and so we connect with it.
It has floating rocks. Giant trees. Space travel. Advanced technology rendered in a realistic way - again far but not too far from where we are that it seems possible. Earth is not even depicted, only briefly referenced. It has action. Discovery. Cllicheed tough marine lines. It is not a "first contact" story. It is a super super recycled story- and I would even dare call it a classic.

Everything below this line is a complete and utter spoiler. Don't read it if you haven't seen the movie. Seriously. You'll regret it.

The story, I mean. There's a reason "Intruders come into a world looking for resources and in so doing crush a tribe of indigenous people in parallel with the classic "love against all odds" storyline culminating into a "victory to the underdog" ending in parallel with "Staying with the new world" has been done time and time again. Same as Pocahontas. Similar to Dance with the Wolves. Nearly exactly the same as Atlantis: A Lost Empire, except that that was a steampunk animation, not a sci fi.

The technology used in the movie is one of the key connecting factors; obscene development in genetics and biology, millitary weapons that look different but are similar enough that we can recognise them - a plot necessity, for if humans mastered fusion no amount of flying beasts could keep them from winning, and also because to do it star wars style with near magical technology makes it unrealistic. And the technology has actually been borrowed from other movies and stories, notably from Halo. But I disgress.

I love reading long reviews to shows I like, but I don't need to say much here. This story is a classic. You can tell right from the start how the story will end, but there are many suprising bits. The "Genocide" was so dark that I hadn't actually believed it would take place. Humans are so ugly in this story, and the immersion within Na'Vi culture is thourough enough for us to all want to stay and belong there. In fact most people don't care that the humans are ultra evil. We pretty much are anyway. The one concept I didn't like was that the villain was so inhumane that he lost any semblance of realism, which was intended and probably the entire reason why no one felt sorry for him, everyone wanted him to die, but still a deplorable conclusion. I would have preferred that Cameron explore the greed of humanity as the main villain, but that may have been impossible. Not with that budget, which was so massive that no one wouild want to take any risks. Stick to a storyline that works, pull the viewer into the world, make them feel the same emotions as the protagonists. Automatic hit.

This movie is grade A beef. I don't care what everyone says. Classics are remembered because they are classics. This is the best remake of that story I've ever seen.

On that same note, it takes the best from everything: Dance Among The Wolves, Pochahontas, and apparently Nausicaa and Princess Mononoke, combined with Hornets and Pelicans from Halo, realistic looking mecha that would probably actually be useful, the idea of having a real life avatar, similar enviroments and creatures as the ones on earth; hammerhead rhinos, tiger dogs, pheasant lions, pterodactyls, Bigger pterodactyls and a chosen one subplot.

It's seamless; there are no twists or suprises, we know that the guy will end up as his avatar, in fact we are told it'll work before the war starts. We are introduced to the badass dragon, then we are told that it has been ridden before, and that only a great hero can ride it. Then the hero finds it - using the all important regalia to rally everyone together - another classic move - KotOR's Kashyyyk storyline...

And yet I was suprised when they tore down the tree. I loved that part where he walks in the ashes. The hero swoops in at the end to fight the bad guy - plot no jutsu without a doubt, but not a moment too soon. The oh so sad and almost "a la Last Samurai" mowdown of the Na'Vi - And then the internet connected world - and it's spirit, which probably does exist if the whole world is one, ravaging the humans and their goddamn guns and their mecha - and the 10 foot Tuk-something - Kokoum kicking the shit out of tiny fuckers with machine guns, and I thought everyone would die. But of course the main character single handedly defeats the bomber and th flagship - whatever. He's the one with the dragon, and he also has a machine gun, he can do what he wants. And that's how I would defeat a giant thing anyway. Grenade in the jet intake. Instant Kill.

I also have to give out huge props to Cameron for doging bullets that accommpany cliched stories; the romance is crisp and clear, (thank god) the main character is not the perfectly trained, unshakeable marine he might have been, he cares and we care too so we believe him when he tells us he cares for the world. Kokoum doesn't die as a result of the romance subplot. Not everyone lives happily ever after. A handicapped main charachter that doesn't require any help to get around (Go handicapped people) Neytiri, unlike pocahontas, is not a perfect sexy woman, infact I would daresay that she is not sexualized whatsoever, which is super super great and will shut up the feminists. Also, she's practically topless the entire time but no one cares and I'd think it pretty wrong to get a hard on from a cat-woman (although in context she is pretty and it doesn't look weird) Because of the use of aliens, there is no concept of cultural "brownness" which is one of the big no noes in the traditional tellings of this story. [edit that's not actually true since the Na'Vi pretty much represent some First Nation culture or a meshing of them all. But that might be unavoidable.]There is no peaceful solution; the humans get their asses handed to tem by the planet itself, revenge is obtained, and the asses are cuffed and sent home. I think the list goes on, with the exception of the warmongering Ratcliffe-Colonel Douche, which was hit dead center.

Bottomline. The whole thing was satisfying. If there's a small mistake but you can forgive it, then there was no mistake after all. 10/10. Or 9.99ad infinitum/10

Ultimately, there is genius in taking all the good parts out of a bunch of stories and making another same old remake while trying to cut down on the weaknesses of each. Creating is recycling. New things are born from others. Probably the military is looking into mecha as we speak. Or Hornets.

Props Cam. And everyone else who made your ideas into reality.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Quote of the Day

If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Communication Breakdown Syndrome

What does it mean when people misinterpret your intentions and you don't try to correct them?
Disappointment that they can't really understand what you're thinking?
When you feel like you should say something, but don't because you're unsure of whether or not they need space?
When they're still angry the next day because they read too much in your intentions?
Can you say "I don't know what you're talking about"?
Are you just afraid that they'll lash out at you? Or that they wouldn't believe you?
Does it mean that you're a coward?_

Know you place. If it has become habitual, anything else will seem out of character.

So trying to be nice is a bad thing?

If you've always kept your distance and suddenly you try to be a close friend, what kind of reaction do you expect?

... I felt pity? No, I transposed my own sadness and misread the original emotion.

You can't stand the feeling of being despised, but you believe that you shouldn't force people into arguments if they would rather avoid them. Are you really doing it for their sake?

Even if I'm the one who misread in the first place, is it all right for me to tell them that they were wrong? How do I prove that my words really had no double meaning?

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Crewman's Log

Oh dear. A blast from the past. I totally described the secene, I can feel it so well. Making me nostalgic.

I’m sitting on the main staysail, a triangle sail currently all bundled up on top of the classroom, I’d been working for 10 minutes on POLS 2783, a daunting prospect. But hell, I’m sitting on a sail, on top of a classroom on a 180 foot tall twinmast sailing yacht. *Dinkle*’s soaked pants are still drying on the Foremast shrouds on portside, which makes me smile, or at least smile more then when they were hung up in the 9-man yesterday, and I had to take them down.

The Bosun is working with a staysail sheet, Aaron is on the bridge, drinking out of a Nalgene bottle with two hands, Algis is sitting on the stern stairs, keeping lookout. We’re on a Run, yards square, apparently still heading northwest on Starboard tack, towards Columbia.
Mike doesn’t mind me sitting here, he’s not going to set the sail yet. I can hear people chatting in Discovery B class through the open portholes, the sound is at least as loud as the waves crashing around me, it surrounds me, and for a moment I’m entranced in the noise.
The Forecourse was luffing just now, Morgan must have steered off course. Or it could be because of one of the buntlines, it’s stuck and too windy for us to fix it while the sail is set. The masts creak, pushed by the wind, and the blocks whine as they undulate under the constant rocking.
Hmm… The wind seems to have picked up. Or maybe I’m just imagining it, but it does look like the waves are just a bit bigger now. No- they definitely are, which means that helming must be a pain (helming on a run is always a pain, it’s like trying to balance a book on a sowing needle.)
This of course, reminds me of the time I went up the bowsprit while they were setting the outer, to unjam some rope that had gotten caught. On the way down, I nearly got ko-ed by a widowmaker, but a timely reflex made my hand catch it just before it connected with my face. Most fortunate.
The cook just called out. Looks like he caught a fish. If it’s big, we might have raw fish paste for breakfast; a tasty spread for toast, and that is good since the Nutella supply has run out.
I should really get back to work now though.
Feb 27th, 09
gab

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

The Endless Eight

In my opinion, is a stroke of genius.

But first, a resume: The Endless Eight is a story arc occuring in the second season to the infamous anime "The melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya" In this arc, which lasts 8 episodes, the characters realize that they have been trapped in a time loop that resets their world to the second half of august before september rolls around. The viewer is thus subjected to 8 consecutive episodes of the same storyline, until finally, after many failures, the main characters are finally able to break the cycle.

This arc elicited a violent reaction amongst anime fans, but, as I said, from the perspective of an art student, it is a stroke of genius. The "Endless Eight" has acheived a timeless infamy by doing something that no other series has or probably will ever dare do. Incidentally, some enraged fans have decided that this is a product of laziness or lack of ideas on the producer's part. As an art student, however, I believe that this decision was premeditated and most likely very deliberate.

1.Every episode, though sharing the same plot, is entirely re-animated, the backgrounds are redone in many of the scenes, the voice acting presents subtle but noticeable differences in tone and speech, etc etc.
2.Nevertheless the Endless Eight is incredibly boring. It is a stroke of genius in the sense that no other anime that I know of has attempted to remove itself from the usual plot driven story to this extent. I do believe that the piece functions better as an art piece (with all it's strangeness) than as an anime. This is great, since the producers do not attempt to use recycled material to get away with working less.
3. Fans misunderstand that the studio was in fact, trying to make the E8 into an interesting retelling of the same story, but this has already been done. I believe that the original purpose was to create, within the viewer, a sense of expectancy - viewers half remembering the exact lines used by characters throughout the show, to the point that upon listening to the track of the 8th episode, they would be surprised when noticing that the story is written, in fact, very differently compared to the others.
4.The E8 also acts as a kind of social commentary, if one pays attention to the complaints of angry fans and to the general direction that the industry is has taken. Fans demand good series, and when they are dissapointed, they voice their opinions with ravenous, single-minded reasoning. But enough. The E8 proved to me that a large population of the anime fanbase has become, unwittingly, dependant on the manufactured stories that pollute the net. Not to say that originality does not receive praise - fans are particularly pleased when something new is well done - but they will curse and swear and promise to abandon a series if something too new does not fit the accepted standard of normality.
5. In other words, fans operate on a parabolla which is more or less highest when something is moderately different and original and lowest when something is extreme. Manufactured anime. The problem is that most studios listen to their fans, and so if normalcy is what is expected, then the anime world is liable to go towards the mainstream and never return.
6.Of course, if E8 is a work of art, then I am the viewer, because I am viewing both the show and the reactions of others to the show, which is interesting in and of itself. However, I am deeply reconnassant of the production staff for not half assedly trying for 4 or 5 episodes of the same deal, and definitely not for 2. For E8 to function as a art piece, it must keep going until all but the insanest - and this is why I like the idea, anime fans are driven away by it's weirdness by industry standards. Art students, however, usually hate the concept of an industry standard, even when they themselves emulate it. Also, such a thing as deliberately inducing boredom and anger is incredibly interesting to witness and experience.

All things considered, I will never forget the E8. If a studio's purpose is to become known, in that case Haruhi does the very best in advertising itself - and in the media industry, it is known that negative advertising is still advertising. I never would have guessed though, that some fools would actually drop a show in a fit of revenge towards the producers. For my part, I'm streaming it online from the translated version, and so I'm not paying the producers didily squat. So I'll spare them the useless ranting. I think I'll go and buy it, because I like the idea and the shelves are likely still full, and because of it's value as an art piece. Obtaining documentation of actual performance art/ sound art/ video art is inredibly difficult or illegal, as often only a few copies are made.

Monday, April 5, 2010

The Real Folk Blues Part 1 and 2

These are the memorable lines from the finale of the wondrous Cowboy Bebop, directed by Shinichiro Watanabe and written by Keiko Nobumoto.

The Real Folk Blues (Part 1)

Vicious: Don't forget, a snake's venom poisons slowly after the bite.

Faye: It might be good to pair up with another woman. How about it? Wanna partner up?

Jet: Men only think of their past right before their death, as if they were searching frantically for proof that they were alive.

Vicious: ... And you will shed tears of scarlet

Jet: Hey Spike have you ever heard this story?

Spike: Huh?

Jet: There was a man who was injured on a hunt. The man had no means to treat the wounds and his leg began to rot and death approaches. In the last moments of his life a rescue helicopter picks him up and rushes him to the hospital. As the helicopter flies the man looks outside the window seeing white capped mountains glistening in the sunlight and he thought "That's where I was going" ... I hate that story. Men only think of their past right before their death, as if they were searching frantically for proof that they were alive.

The Real Folk Blues (Part 2)

Vicious: 'You will shed tears of scarlet.' or 'You will shed crimson tears.'

Spike: There once was a tiger striped cat. This cat died a million deaths, revived and lived a million lives, and he was owned by various people who he didn't really care for. The cat wasn't afraid to die. Then one day the cat became a stray cat, which meant he was free. He met a white female cat, and the two of them spent their days together happily. Well, years passed, and the white cat grew weak and died of old age. The tiger striped cat cried a million times, and then he died too. Except this time, he didn't come back to life.

Jet: Yeah. That's a good story.

Spike: I hate that story.

Jet: Huh?

Spike: I never liked cats, you know that.

Jet Oh yeah.

The two then laugh hysterically.

Bull: Do not fear Death. Death is always at our side. When we show fear, it jumps at us faster than light. But, if we do not show fear, it casts its eye upon us gently and then guides us into infinity...

Vicious: A beast that has lost its place. He has nowhere to return to now. He will come.

Spike: Look at these eyes. One of them is a fake, because I lost it in an accident. Since then, I have seen the past in one eye, and the present in the other. I had believed that what I saw was not all of reality...

Spike: I'm not going there to die. I'm going to see if I am really alive.

Vicious: I told you before, Spike. I'm the only one who can kill you and set you free.

Spike: Those words apply to you as well, Vicious. Either way, it's going to end here.

Spike: Julia is dead. Let's finish it now.

Vicious: As you wish.

Spike: [Points his finger like a gun] Bang. [And finally, Spike falls, and farewell]

Julia: [Dying] It's all a dream.

Spike: Yeah, just a bad dream.

Ending: YOU'RE GONNA CARRY THAT WEIGHT.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

So Think Globally Before You Decide It's Cool To Wear Nike

L
Long live corporations.
Here's more on Culture Jamming , which is what this ad does. And stop buying Nike shit. Nike is shit.

I've been having this inspiration to change the world, isn't that funny? Modestly, Passez-au-Suivant style. I'll bet anyone 100$ it'll work in the end. I'd also like to do a bunch of posters, adbusters style. But I'd label it as art. Ambitious things, like hacking some major website and modifying it to show some kind of anti-consumerist message. Do you know how many people go through google in 5 minutes? Or giant word art, like "Private Property Created Crime", for everyone to see, defacing the name of these indestructible giants we live in the shadow of. Hahaha.

But man, has anyone thought about it? My name. It's so funny, that I decided on that penname, for a totally unrelated reason, because it sounded cool, and yet it relates so well to that. It's like it was made for this purpose, to spearhead some kind of change, and see where that goes. Hahaha. Dreams are nice. Believing in them and acting on those beliefs may be nicer still.