Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Avatar Gets Put in The Hurt Locker

Dog Poet Transmitting.......

You may know and you may not know and you may like me less afterwards when you do know but... one of my greater enjoyments is movies; good movies. There are a number of ways to watch a movie, I won’t list them and if you think about it you can figure out the various perspectives. I watch movies from the director’s perspective. Movies, like anything else, can have positive and negative impact. Books are like movies except that the screen is your mind. Life is a movie and... I mean that in a very real way. That might be the main reason that I enjoy movies (good movies).

I’ve heard various opinions on the film, Avatar. I’ve even gotten detailed opinions from people who haven’t seen the film. Those are my favorites. I get these kinds of opinions on just about everything as time goes by. I even get them about my own life, from people who haven’t lived it and know little or nothing at all about it. There’s not much you can say in response to things like that. Perhaps I should say that it’s not something you should respond to because it’s not likely to resolve itself in a useful way.

Regardless of everyone and anyone’s opinion about Avatar, I thought it was a remarkable effort. It was outstanding in two ways in particular; the cinematography and the plot... or message as you prefer. Film is a limited medium. There are all kinds of wrong directions you can go in and lose your audience. Catering to any particular level of intelligence can confuse or dissatisfy another. Filmmakers usually prefer the widest reach.

This isn’t about Avatar specifically or The Hurt Locker. It’s about the subtext and also has to do with my days of recent travel in which I watched Fox News for a few hours at my hotel one evening.

I saw The Hurt Locker and when I heard it was nominated, I was quite surprised. I only watched it because I saw that Guy Pearce was in it but he left early on. I found it to be forgettable; I actually can’t remember much about it ...what I do remember seems like they wanted to personalize those engaged in warfare. One thing is clear in my mind, The Hurt Locker in no way compares with Avatar in any category I can think of. It is interesting to note that the lady who made The Hurt Locker is James Cameron’s ex-wife. I heard that on Fox News so it might not be true (grin).

I’ve come to a certain conclusion which was already a foregone conclusion and that is a concerted effort is at work to control the public’s perspective. Well, duh...

I watched Fox News and I hadn’t seen any Fox News for around ten years, except for the occasional Youtube. The first thing I noticed was that they had upped their game. The tabloid format was slicker. They’d hired a battalion of blonde, Playboy Bunny types; some kind of neo-con, Girls Gone Wild motif that I guess the marketing division told them would be good for business. Looking at them, I calculated that they must spray at least ten different chemicals over their bodies each day and then put on their makeup with a spackle knife.

Now they’ve got these features that appear at regular intervals called ‘Real Americans’ along with other categories that I don’t remember. The Real Americans all seem to be connected to the military or the police and they tell, ‘dead buddy’ stories about the horrors of combat which they have been engaged in. The reason is to protect the American Homeland by going abroad and murdering many, many thousands of people who have no connection to any attacks on the American Homeland but who do happen to be sitting on resources that American corporations desire. These real Americans get serious and misty eyed as they talk about their ordeals and the loss of their fellows. It’s stirring stuff.

Avatar gives a really good look at the personalities and objectives of these Real Americans as well as the corporate interests that finance them. At some point, in the not too distant past, control of the American military shifted into the hands of the corporations. It’s obvious that neo-con Hollywood did not like what James Cameron was projecting about the American Way. So they got into a huddle somewhere over the last year and decided to press for support for The Hurt Locker which shows American soldiers doing a hard and necessary job, eliminating the citizens of foreign lands on whose soil they have no business being.

I happened to see Bill O’Reilly and he’s got a much extended time period now; or so it seemed to me and they gave him a brace of bunnies to Nod Well as he bloviates into the overblown caricature of himself that is his trademark. The big deal of the day, that I was watching, was to discredit the Obama health care initiative in favor of the AMA Pharmaceutical combine and the insurance companies. America is not set up to embrace programs that, across the board, help the average American. America is set up to provide an environment where the corporations can maximize profit at the expense of average Americans and where wealth provides a wall of protection against all of the problems created by disparities in wealth.

I felt like I had to watch Fox News for awhile so that I could get a feel for what they are up to. I could only take it for so long. It was fascinating to watch everyone lying without any deviation. Surely they know they are lying? Maybe they just want you to believe it’s true and maybe if they say it over and over most people will. Some reptile from the New York Post came on and was whining about the civilian trials for the alleged 9/11 masterminds. At one point he said, “They’ve all confessed, it’s a done deal” and then he went on about the need for military tribunals. You know why that is, right? Those aren’t public are they? You also get a jury trial in a civilian court but not at a military tribunal where they also allow secret evidence, I believe.

When I saw Avatar I said to myself, “Yeah, that’s how it is”. When I saw The Hurt Locker I must not have seen much of anything because I can’t remember it. Maybe I should have gone back and seen it again before I wrote this but I didn’t feel like it. Apparently The Hurt Locker only grossed 14,000,000 dollars. You can be sure it’s going to gross a lot more now.

I got a lot of insight into the generic American mind by watching Fox News. I could see how the day after day, relentless brain washing must take its toll. It’s tragic to see America melt down into a festering soup of ignorance and appetite but most likely that’s where it was headed all along. It’s long been about the preeminence of materialism. Even the house religion is just another kind of department store. It’s on its way to looking like a bombed out strip mall and makes "Escape from New York" a prophetic kind of a film.

For all I know, the PTB knew The Apocalypse was coming and they knew about the awakening and revealing that attends it and Fox News and all the rest of it were engineered to militate against revelation and awakening. The news announcers kept repeating over and over about how they had no agenda and only presented the facts. They said they let the viewer decide what’s real and what’s not. They kept saying this in different ways.

I’m not sure I transmitted my point as effectively as I might have. Hopefully the reader gets what I’m trying to say. I’ll leave that for you to decide.


End Transmission.......

Visible sings: Songwriter by Les Visible♫ And We Could All Be Free ♫
'And We Could All Be Free' is track no. 8 of 10 on Visible's 2006 album 'Songwriter'
Lyrics (pops up)

Songwriter by Les Visible

The New Shangri-La.

Petri Dish Mirror.

64 comments:

Anonymous said...

I saw Avatar. Previously, (before seeing it) I imagined it to be just another cowboy and indian themed movie, albeit super sized with all the latest gizmos bells and whistles.
I was, for the most part, correct in that.
Not derogatorily, but realistically in that the natives of America suffered and still endure far more than can possibly be expressed through all the special effects, 3-D or anything short of self immolation or chronic distillation.

That said, once the movie began and I met the Navi, (the Sanskrit word for boat, source of the modern word navy) and saw the bluish (Krishna/Vishnu) colored folks with their Vaishnava tilaka markings and sadhu dreadlocks, I almost expected them to, at one point, start chanting Hare Krishna, Hare Rama with a background accompaniment of Om Namah Shivaya!

Actually, I DID hear this, but knew deep down it was just me.

Sleestak said...

I am a cinema buff too. Never trust a review see a movie for yourself. Van Helsing, Underworld, Enemy at the Gates, Public Enemies, The Matrix, 84 Charlie Mopic, Where Eagles Dare, these are a few of my faves. Glad Christoph Waltz won something for portrayal of SS Colonel Landa even if inglourious is an overrated jew revenge flick.

Visible said...

Van Helsing was a great one. 13th Floor was too. I'm not going to start listing or I would be here awhile.

...........................

Yeah, I noticed the Krishna associative symbology. Although I enjoy films, there are other things I enjoy(ed) a lot more like psychedelic trips and certain other things. I recognize the limitations of film and so I make allowances which, if I didn't make them, would preclude my watching films. I make allowances for life too, otherwise I would have a much more limited participation.

gurnygob said...

Hi Les I watched Avatar online and I liked it. I also watched Hurt Locker and liked it too. I watched the Book of Eli, 2012, and some others like Shutter Island. It really got into my head for a day or two and I began to wonder if I was in a nut house. I won’t give the plot away as you may not have seen it yet but I recommend it as a good movie. With that said, I some times get the feeling we are being fucked with big time by the movie makers. Films theses days have a way of getting under ones skin and can be very influential in forming life changing opinions in people some times for the better but most times not. Of course we always have the hero/s that save the day and make the world a safer place to live in free from all the mad terrors who hate us for our freedoms. I can’t shake the feeling we are being conditioned for something.

I watched “Leap Year” it was funny and I am trying to find “Holy Water” both are set in Ireland. Small budget films but very good if you feel like a change from all the blood and guts stuff. Holy water is about a group of down-beat Irish guys who hijack a truck. As it turns out the truck is loaded with Viagra, not what they were expecting. Somehow it ends up getting into the water supply and well that’s all I can say about it at the moment as I have only seen trailers, but it looks so funny. Anyway that’s my film review for today.

What can I say about the “NEWS” well where I come from we have the BBC. You can always trust the good old BBC at least they tell the truth. $%”*(%^&*()$£”! sorry I just fell off the chair laughing. I watch the news for the big stories then go to the likes of WRH to get the real end of the stick. I watch the news and shout things like “fucking liar” at the TV but I don’t think they hear me cause they just go on telling more lies so don’t waste your time shouting at the TV it doesn’t work. The truth is hard to find. One mans hero is often another’s mans terrorist and right or wrong its those who can shout the loudest or make the most noise who score the points. If you own the news you can say what you like and drip-feed all the bullshit you want and sooner or later most people will just believe what they are told. I suffer from a certain amount of this but not as much as I use too thank God, but I wonder if it makes any difference. At the end of the day they will do with us whatever they want and for the most part we will just have to suffer it. They, the powers that be, have turned most of us into good “political correct” citizens. We are at a crossroads where we are dammed if we do and dammed if we don’t and the only way out that I can see is to get off the manmade roadmap and get back on the road that leads to God. I hate what this world has become, is becoming. We all want freedom and rights and choices but I am concerned about the spiritual price of such things. My home country, Ireland, is fucked and that’s putting things nicely. We sold our soul for a few Euros and now its payback time. A United Ireland! HA,,, I now laugh every time I hear those words. Ireland will never be united unless we get out of Europe, but that’s another battle for another day. Anyway, I think I will go and stick my head in the cooker now and get the dinner on.
Cheer up, thing could be better.

Anonymous said...

"I’m not sure I transmitted my point as effectively as I might have."

No you could say more, but didn't. Thanks, what was left out was the point and Im feelin it. Much better than pushing an ideas over on people, Les, just put it on the table and hope others go there?
Im walking away with an idea thats we need to take ideas and issues from TV or movies, much like life, but not the whole story or plot. Its in picking what works for you and why.

The Fool

Anonymous said...

Nice verbalization - even if you think otherwise, Les. It's hard to get "dialed in" on what your point is some days, but the context was enough.

I watched both movies. I left Avatar feeling uplifted and hopeful about the innate goodness inherent in all of us, IF we just listen to our selves. I left the 'hurt-locker-room' feeling manipulated and force-fed - bloated with small things, like editing choices, that simply did not feel "right". The fact that I was aware of the editing choices in one movie and unaware in the other was enlightening all by itself.

As for news - if one opts to watch the daily propoganda and get bogged down in political and societal drivel...one can. Fox and their "fair and balanced" right wing spin is the direct offset to the ABC/CBS/NBC/NPR "government nanny" approach. But both are extremes, and as usual, the middle zone where most people and families would be best served, is left out. This whole two-party thing here is a sideshow to what is coming over the next few years. We will all go broke and then watch things fall apart due to overt complexity and lack of any humanity in our politics, society and business. No ethics - no rightness, eh?

Grab the good and build - let go the bad and the unimportnat sideshows, stop allowing spoon feeding by those with money and absolutely no conscience. Vomit this trash out of your system and make up your own minds.

Why let pundits and paid spokespeople form your beliefs about what your reality is? Read and more importantly, TALK to others who are NOT listening and reciting this governmental/corporate mantra.

And then let this all pass off you like water on a ducks back - nobody wants "he had a lot of money" or "he did what he was told" on their headstone. So ask yourself - what do I want on my headstone when I depart? Then you get to what is important, what will make you happy and what life is really about.

Just responding to what you wrote - and glad I am not the only one who feels this way about those two movies made by exes...

Jim in Houston

Keep the faith!

Unknown said...

Avatar... I enjoyed watching it because of its message, indeed. Watching it really opened my eyes a bit wider to how things are..reminded me of that other movie "Fern Gully", that was a good one as well. Its interesting that one of the commenters mentioned the Krishna associative symbolism with the folks in the movie, I hadn't picked that up when watching it. I watched it twice (ha) The first time on screen with captions so I could understand what was being said,and then the second time in 3D..wasn't satisfied with the 3d effects..was going to see it in IMAX but it was sold out...so just went ahead in regular 3D. You know, there was one news story, probably a few others as well calling the movie a "treehugger" in such low ways..degrading...sounded like the word was used to mock..the way that word sounds..to me.. has nothing to do with what the central message of Avatar was for me. Alot of things in that movie were relevant

Kswan

Anonymous said...

I seen Avatar 3D, it was ok, it’s not like it inspired me to do anything different to what I had been doing before and after a few days all was forgotten.

Pan’s Labyrinth is the best movie I’ve seen in the past 5 years, well at least that’s the one that made me cry more than any other film I’ve ever seen, except maybe for Benji (the dog) when I was 12 or 13 A German Shepard was chasing Benji and Benji tricked him by going behind some bushes and stopping, the German Shepard ran through and went straight over a cliff. I must of rewound that at least 50 times whilst in tears because it looked so real and to this day I swear someone threw a German Shepard off the side of a cliff just for that scene.

A movie that made me change myself in a way was Wolf Creek, I never want that shit to happen to anyone, I was stoned at the time so the effect was more amplified but still, those psychos are out there and a lot of them get their faces on Fox news too. In a little way it did make me a better person, I can still have my fantasies but I won’t ever cross that line.

I’m not here to convince anyone to watch those movies I listed, I’m just saying, the realer they look, the more unreal they become until it becomes reality. Not sure if that even makes sense, it’s all part of the programming of the mind anyway because we sit there and stare and when it does occur in real life we just sit there and stare.

Now I have to go and do my washing.

Odium.

CJ said...

I thought Avatar was a very good film. Humans portrayed as NWO neocon thugs. But the is a deeper message and that is the science...grow an avatar and slip in your old brain, or your entire persona. Of course, such technology would only be offered to the chosen few and they would look human. Of course, this plays the other way and ties into David Icke`s theory of "shape shifting lizards"...its amazing that the NWO MSM can poke fun at him, yet Hollywood forks out $300 million to make Avatar!!

Anonymous said...

Last nigh I watched Ikiru.
Wow!
Kurosawa ain't famous for no reason.
Never have I seen a more human movie so well directed and acted.
Except for maybe Dodesukaden..

nina said...

For all I know, the PTB knew The Apocalypse was coming and they knew about the awakening and revealing that attends it and Fox News and all the rest of it were engineered to militate against revelation and awakening.

Everything would be better for everyone if we could be so generous in thought. Angst and revulsion would vanish. We would love and give love creating evermore love.
But, since the situation has reached the apex of Absolute Opposite throughout power enriched, such generosity lies mostly dormant or dead as unprofitable, worthless enterprise.
They would never do a single thing for anyone else if they could get away with it, comfort or conceal. The acts of comforting or concealing require conscience.

You know Visible, you have much goodness inside you.

Anonymous said...

Avatar or Hurt Locker...is there a DIFFERENCE?The Jewish/Western media is bankrupt. Their MO cannot be translated into film! They would be all hanged for their content. May God destroy them!

Visible said...

Thank you Nina... my self image is not something that's generally stable given all the hammering I get that I can't source most of the time. If I can just be useful then that is enough for me.

.................................

Pan's Labyrinth was a remarkable film. Wolf Creek, on the other hand, should not be seen by anyone who can't take gruesome horror and incipient, incremental terror. That's one film I wish I hadn't seen; very well done but uncomfortable. It made The Hitcher look like a Disney film.

I've seen another horror flic last year that came out of France which was also well done and worse than Wolf Creek. I'm not even going to post the name of it... pure and demented psychopathy in action.

Visible said...

Thank you Nina... my self image is not something that's generally stable given all the hammering I get that I can't source most of the time. If I can just be useful then that is enough for me.

.................................

Pan's Labyrinth was a remarkable film. Wolf Creek, on the other hand, should not be seen by anyone who can't take gruesome horror and incipient, incremental terror. That's one film I wish I hadn't seen; very well done but uncomfortable. It made The Hitcher look like a Disney film.


I've seen another horror flic last year that came out of France which was also well done and worse than Wolf Creek. I'm not even going to post the name of it... pure and demented psychopathy in action.

nina said...

It wouldn't be so bad to be Prufrock, at least he knew.
In regards to shifting self-image, you have to remember in the shifts there are at least 2 million devotees who find you very useful.

Visible said...

I have trouble with comments like that. It's as if the whole world is evil and all artists work for Gog or Magog and wear human suits over their lizard forms. It's as if everything is fucked and you can't enjoy life.

I take enjoyment from a number of things and the only thing I try to remember is not to be attached to them. I think the world is as beautiful as the inside of our minds and whatever realm our heart resides in.

I'm not going to let the nogoodnicks steal my joy for it will mean they have won and they are not even as powerful as I am; much less the one I work for.

Visible said...

When I was a very young man I memorized that poem along with The Rubaiyat and a few others. I identified with it to a great degree. I feel I am now more positive than the intent of that poem because it does have a fatalistic and poignant tenor and end. Still, it remains one of the enduring classics.

Peter said...

Welcome back les, it appears you are back. We are relieved, en masse, I am sure you were missed.
I must implore you to see the new Mel Gibson movie, "The Edge of Darkness". The topic is extremely timely, whistleblowing a Defense contractor by an insider. The retaliation of whistlebower by private security contractors of said defense conatractor.
Defense contractor is creating components for nuclear weapons. Whistleblower uncovers a plan for selling dirty bombs to outside countries to be used against Americans in false flag terror attack.
Pretty wild huh?
Mel looks tired and haggard(in real life)
My respect for Mel has increased. I assure you,it will not be wasted time or money.

Rebel 4E said...

French Horror film....Hmmmmm!
Wasn't Martyrs by any chance ? (o__0)(not for the faint hearted)

Avatar for all the faults that people nit-pick with it was an amazing (Imax) experience, one that moved me and spoke to my deeper self on many levels.
It's the only film to come along in a long time that made me get off my jaded,cynical backside to go and see on a cinema screen.

As far as favourites go...The Thing, They Live,The Shining,...
Mwuhahahhahahh.( I love horror).

Speaking of horror...FOX = 666

Respects,

Visible said...

Good Grief Rebel!

You nailed it. That film is the most relentless and terrifying film of its kind that I have seen.

Avatar was a good effort.

I've got The Carpenter version of The Thing in my library. He's remaking They Live... due out next year I think.

Someone mentioned Shutter Island. I read the book; that author is a favorite of mine.

...................................

thanks Peter, I'll see it. I very much enjoy Mel's work in any case. He's got a fine eye though sometimes he does something which I don't understand his reason for doing... like Signs

kcb said...

How was Avatar Anti-War?

The solved their problem WITH war didn't they?

kcb said...

Oh and also the plot was a complete retread:

http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2009/12/10-possible-sources-of-avatar-in.html

Rebel 4E said...

Be Verrrrry interesting to see what updates John Carpenter makes to the 'They Live'remake...he has plenty relevant material to work with
(no doubt the Holy-Wood suits will have their say, and dumb things down for the popcorn chewin' m-asses)


"I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass...and I'm all out of bubblegum"


L,L & P

Visible said...

Yeah, they should have just laid down and died like good little wogs.

As for the retread theory, everything is a retread; see Ecclesiastes.

I'm trying out a cynical anonymous sneer in the mirror. I sort of look like Elvis except for the hair and the waistline.

Anonymous said...

How about the French movie "Delicatessen?"

Thank you very much

Anonymous said...

"Tetsuo the Iron Man"

Shinya Tsukamoto

McKenna Fan said...

I thought for sure someone would have mentioned this by now- so I guess it`s up to me:

The heroes for Avatar and the Hurt Locker were opposites. Avatar`s hero found his heart, and Hurt man found he didn`t have one.

Hurt man decided he would rather work with machines that indiscriminately destroy, instead of being with his loyal wife and adorable baby son. He just loved his adrenaline rush. No principles to fight for there.

Avatar man found his conscience and heart, and was fighting on behalf of people he loved.

Hurt Locker hero was a (drum roll, please) SOCIOPATH hero. Ayn Rand would be proud. He had no heart.

Hmmmmmm...

Anonymous said...

Ciao Les,

Glad you're posting again. I ignored the Oscars this year; to me it's just another fraudulent distraction, kinda like the Nobel Peace Prize. However I do care about movies; I write them, in fact (haven't quit my day job yet).

My specialty is historical drama, so of course I'm not writing for Hollywood. The project on my front burner is "The First Casualty", about a reporter covering a controversial war. It has less to do with history lessons (re Spain 1937) and more to do with our relationship to the truth, which could always stand some improvement.

One movie that really deserves to get made: the true story of the creation of the state of Israel. Oh man. I ain't holding my breath.

Mucho blessings,
Wayne

Visible said...

McKenna Fan;

I still can't remember anything about that film. It didn't leave me with anything but I am grateful for your analysis it kind of makes the point I was after and intended but didn't have the copy to draw from.


............................

Delicatessen... hmmmm. Have you seen Martyr? Something is going on in that film that I've never seen before and wish I hadn't seen. The ending and summing up is unforgettable which is... heh heh, regrettable.

The French do a lot of cutting edge work like Man Bites Dog and one I saw recently but can't remember the name of. It had Kirsten Scott Thomas in it (she's fluent in French)... that was a memorable thriller.

Anonymous said...

That's great! I almost said "Man Bites Dog" as well but it is sadistic trash and those disturb me very much.

"Martyr?" No and that's odd because I had a period a few years ago where I was really into movies and spent months and months on nothing else.
Especially foreign films where I immediately became very endeared of Kurosawa.

"Avatar" was the first movie I have attended in years..

Visible said...

True, it is. Martyr is much worse in terms of the sadistic angle.

Anonymous said...

Well, "Tetsuo" is almost beyond description.
At least mine.

Bill B. said...

Since "Hurt Locker" won the awards, is this the further hyping up to prepare for more war?

Visible said...

I think that's exactly what it is along with the ennobling of canon fodder, the glorification of sacrifice for the corporate ideal and increasing layers of separation between those who suffer and those who enjoy watching but...

it's not going to turn out like they think. This time is different from any other time... much, much bigger things are happening even if they aren't being seen for the most part... yet.

flyinthecream88 said...

PRESTO..AMERIKA..AVATAR..BEST SCI-FI MOVIE MADE..SO FAR..BLESS MEN LIKE CAMERON..HE DESERVES EVERY MILLION HE MAKES..HURT LACKER..PURE JUNK...THIS WINS THE BEST PIC..WHAT A CROCK...

Anonymous said...

Here is the first part of the video I told you about today. Pat and Pam, Les, I am following your blogs but never can comment, for some reason I don't understand the word verification thing doesn't work on my computer. I am sending this link because it is so fascinating and has an elegant explanation of the physical as well as metaphysical universe.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6151699791256390335#

Nassim Haramein website http://theresonanceproject.org/index.html

BM

Anonymous said...

"America is not set up to embrace programs that, across the board, help the average American. I felt like I had to watch Fox News for awhile so that I could get a feel for what they are up to. I COULD ONLY TAKE IT FOR SO LONG! I'm not sure I transmitted my point as effectively as I might have."

You came in loud and clear. I still haven't seen Avatar but I will. Last movie I saw at a theater was Fahrenheit 911. 99% of movies don't do anything for me. Had a relative stay with me for a few months. I watched (tried to anyhow) half a dozen of his DVDs. Someone would grab testicles and he would laugh his ass off and expect me to do the same, then some black crack head would jump in the sack with a white whore. That isn't my idea of entertainment. I'm not willing to wade through the shit to find a few "good movies." Everyone is talking about Avatar so I will give it a try.

Man, did you hear about that US Senator who married a crack whore? Wasn't six months before he dragged her down to his level.

Fud

Bob N.Y. said...

Hi Les
Great job as usual. There is a video on the internet "Reel Bad Arabs". This is an overview of how our thoughts are shaped by Movies, especially in this case our negative view of Arabs. After viewing this video, it becomes alot easier to see the manipulation in other movies.

Masher1 said...

Hey Les Welcome back. Avatar Eh? I've seen tons of flicks. Have a couple of hundred decent ones here on my shelf right now.. But as of 99' on American movies seem labored in some way or another. I cannot relay the exact troubles i have with most of the ones i went to see but troubled was the main gist i had of them. I mean 'District 9' WTF was going on there? Others mentioned retreads... I saw Fast Furious... thought Crap. Some i talked with that saw it thought Gran Torino was good.... They were wrong. Star Trek had a polish you would expect from a modern picture house but even that had me unimpressed and thankful i bought it second hand as a DVD. Movie making is getting the shit beat out of it by the need to sell and package agendas and propaganda. As time goes by i have less and less interest in even looking at the offerings printed in the movie listings... Forget dumping another fifteen bucks to visit the house and view their offerings. There was a time i could be compelled to see a title at the theater many times over... some times on the same day for example 'Blade Runner' had me at the ticket window five times and i have seen the different 'Cuts' hundreds of times since... Not even one movie of the 2000 era could compel a return trip. Perhaps after the folks runnin the game today get it in the forehead and everyone blackballed by them that actually KNOWS the path to a quality movie and dearly wants to work for the audience instead of a politician/Bankster/Spook I may return to the box office. But even the mighty 2 Billion+ gross of Avatar is not even close to getting that done. The movie biz is never going to be as it was before all the games of the past 20 or so years took place until the truth hits the fan and the Black Balled start their own houses and distribution systems and put hollyweird into the Hurt locker to masturbate to their hearts content in obscurity.

Until then i will just have to visit my old collection to pass the time. I can wait. I've had plenty of practice.

kf said...

I got out of the movie-going habit during the child-rearing years but I do buy from time-to-time, the last being "Between Strangers" with Sophia Loren. It is terrific.

Welcome back!?
Kathy

nobody said...

Hey Les,

Thanks for that. And yeah, between the two flicks it's a no-brainer. I haven't seen the Hurt Locker but I have it pegged as that variety of good-news-from-Iraq that they love on the nightly news. Avatar on the other hand actually had the Americans as bad guys. I was astounded to see our hero take out that bunker on the mega-ship.

But then again John Pilger made a good point when he reviewed them both at his website. The natives in Avatar are only saved by the American warrior who is, of course, their long awaited saviour. Him as the fabled rider of the super-beastie is a perfect statement of American Exceptionalism, albeit in a new livery.

On top of that the warfare rocks. Just like the warfare in every other anti-war movie rocked. Remember the jarheads in Jarhead cheering the Ride of the Valkyries air-cav assault in Apocalypse Now? That was meant to be an anti-war movie wasn't it? Someone forgot to tell the jarheads obviously.

I've already declared that there's never been such a thing as an anti-war movie. But then I saw one! If you want to see an honest to God anti-war movie lay your hands on a copy of Kon Ichikawa's Burmese Harp.



PS As for hrror movies, they are Pentagon kosher, perfectly designed to desensitise humans to suffering and the infliction of pain. When I was a kid there were was no such thing as Hostel and now it's one amongst many - plotless, characterless, with nothing to recommend them apart from their explicitness. This current rash of horror is not for no reason, you know.

Anyone who declares themselves a fan of such movies really should wonder at themselves. Or pop into a recruiting office - if you groove on Hostel you're precisely the fellow they're looking for. I swear to God.

abe said...

Dear Les and readers:

**Special Event- any readers in California should make it out to CSULB's 40th annual inter-tribe Pow Wow this weekend. Thousands of folks from all over the state will be there with tons of food, music, books, and positive energy. Anyone not coming should join in Spirit this weekend, any prayers, chants, or music you can offer with us for indigenous rights in the Americas and Palestine from 10 am-6pm Pacific time (US)would be greatly appreciated and help towards the realization of a better world. This can be an opportunity to unite our intentions as Les did earlier.**

May the Holy Spirit of Wisdom and Charity (QC)bless you all.
Link below

http://www.csulb.edu/divisions/students/sld/american_indian_services/pow_wow/

Rebel 4E said...

@Nobody

"PS As for hrror movies, they are Pentagon kosher, perfectly designed to desensitise humans to suffering and the infliction of pain"

Please try not to generalise, don't equate all Horror films with 'Hostel'.
Although there has been rash of such exploitative 'Gore-Porn' trash in the last decade or so, there are still many genre films being produced that don't rely on 'blood, gore and torture' to appeal to fans.
My favourite film era has always been the 70's.

All types of film (especially Holy-Wood's output) contain elements of 'predictive programming, not just the Horror genre.

Respects,

Visible said...

There's a new Smoking Mirrors up-




Expatriate Life in Europe, neither Shaken nor Stirred.

Night of the Thespians said...

You have to have a break from analysis and news or you would go nuts. For me it is movies and music at the mancave. I love all the dystopian nightmare flicks even the old ones. THX1138 is an underrated one. Escape from New York is one of my all time faves. I love almost all of John Carpenters movies especially the ones with Kurt Russell. They Live is a cult classic. I have never heard of this Wolf Creek one I will look for it, thanks for the tip. I loved Pan's Lab and couldn't understand why christians were so upset over it. The cannibal monster with eyes in his hands was creepy as hell! In the end the tyrant captain got his face about sliced off by the small woman he was about to harm let that be a lesson to those out to harm, you will get yours in the end.

Anonymous said...

Some non-white individuals see Avatar as another example showing that only a white person can act effectively and lead non-whites, and say they don't care for it for that reason.
Individual understanding of anything depends on what one brings to it, one's own cultural (societal) and intellectual (personal) background.

Anonymous said...

Cameron seems to be the type of person who is surrounded by pain and needless to say the body of his work does have a diminishing element. Whatever the effect a movie has on a devotee, whenever I see movies that I really like I sometimes look into a music or movie makers social overtones , when made available.

Cameron seems to go burn through as many divorces as he does making flicks, an aggressive bad blood gene that is found in any all-or-nothing malcontent. He went out of his way to put the hurt on the Christian belief system. That is something most hate-spewing satanists in high/low places, who live for malediction wouldn't do so openly.

I was surprised how the fundamentalist evangelical community hardly made a sound after Cameron's little X-Christian shows. I guess they just waited for James and his zionist bootlickers to fade away. Ziofascism seems to be crushing the word of God by fear of dismissal by the very people the promoters of false prophets, like Pat Robertson, John Hagee, Creflo Dollar, who continue their vicious public hate campaigns and love of wealth, themselves accepting public prejudices and core beleif's is reminding us that being an anti-Christian is today permissible.

Billy G.
Ellipser

iconoclast said...

Thanks; once again, I didn't have any problem understanding your point:)
I didn't watch that award show because I've had enough of others suggesting what I should like. People in Hollywood don't mind standing up and jawing about Polanski and whether or not he 'raped' a young girl (as if the passage of time has somehow mitigated the abominable act) but you don't hear many of them saying much about the "elimination of citizens of foreign lands".
I guess it must be naive to expect much more.
I've seen both Locker and Avatar and had been at a loss to account for the award outcome. I read a review of Avatar, prior to my seeing it, by a fairly well known, alternative media journalist and he went on and on about paganism. I got a really bad feeling about his views but didn't respond; I went full circle and figured what's the point. I liked Avatar for the reasons he didn't; respect for all forms of life, sentient beings, gaia etc. (brings to mind the gaiaguys site and how I can't visit there anymore because the oto took 'care' of that).
Actually living together peacefully; why is that notion so foreign to some? Rhetorical question, I know but...
I heard someone recently speaking about how, in his view, all the good and positive in the world had been removed in order to expose the bad or evil (give it a name). Sure looks that way to me, although there are still places for a respite, albeit too brief; your place is one of them.
Anyway, Slaughterhouse Five is one of my faves; "are you mating now"? lol.

Khephra said...

Stumbled onto this article via Salon Esoterica, and thought I'd suggest a less favourable view of Avatar - that it is a conservative racist fantasy. That being the case, I found it interesting that you stressed the message of Avatar over that of Hurt Locker (which was nothing but an apology for war). As near as I can tell, neither had an especially redeeming ideologic context.

You might be interested to read Slavoj Žižek's critique of Avatar, and/or my response to his critique, which can be found here.

Visible said...

Unnecessary for me to read critiques on things I have experienced and as for opinions and differing positions well... there are a lot of them and everyone is welcome to them.

Khephra said...

"Unnecessary for me to read critiques on things I have experienced and as for opinions and differing positions well... there are a lot of them and everyone is welcome to them."

If you find it "unnecessary" to read critiques, how do you become fluent in applying critical lenses? For example, how is it that you become confident in understanding the post modern lens if you don't read analyses written in this frame? Slavoj Žižek's a cultural theorist - perhaps the only living 'rock star' status philosopher. His critiques certainly aren't for everyone, but I do think he makes a valid point - we live in a fundamentally ideological age. As such, we need more critical theory, not less. In that case, I tend to find it "necessary" to read critiques - especially on things I've experienced.

Hopefully that helps add some context. :)

Visible said...

I"m trying to choose my words carefully so as not to give offense whereas at the same time I wish to be direct. So, let me be direct and just say it isn't intended as an offense;

I have zero interest in words and terms like post modern and absolutely no interest in intellectual circle jerks where people hold forth on how one painting or film looks like from one angle or another.

I have no interest in anyone's analysis or opinion on films, music, art or the like. The Only opinion that counts is my own because I am the one experiencing it and I am the one enjoying or not enjoying it. Many people enjoy things that I am repulsed or bored by. They are free to as they are free to think and feel as they like insomuch as it serves them for whatever the reason and on whatever the level.

I apply my critical lens based on intuitive reflection and various states which flow into each other and compose the whole of what I am at this point in time. None of any of it is important though... only what I am outside of and beyond time is important. I don't care what someone thinks about the wallpaper or what they see there.

I hope that clears it up (grin).

Khephra said...

"I have zero interest in words and terms like post modern and absolutely no interest in intellectual circle jerks where people hold forth on how one painting or film looks like from one angle or another."

Then, again, how do you become an informed consumer if you do not explore critical lenses?

For example, as a teacher, I often find it effective to use contemporary cultural examples. One of the easiest to use - up until book 7, anyway - was Harry Potter. Give or take, I'd say upwards of 90% of the students I taught in Europe and Asia had read Harry Potter, so I could relate concepts with a shared history - even if it was fictional. One of the most common themes I used Harry Potter for was to facilitate discussions of what 'real' education - and educators! - look like in the bookks and 'real life'. For my entire international teaching career I took the position that Dumbledore was Harry's greatest teacher. Then, after relocating to Canada I one day came across Hellman's 'Critical Perspectives on Harry Potter', in which I came across a set of arguments that thoroughly convinced me that Dumbledore was Rowling's example of a *failed* teacher/mentor. Snape was Harry's greatest teacher, and for very strong reasons that I overlooked in my multiple readings of the series.

I think there's a great deal of danger in disregarding critical analyses, in part because I see this as an application of a philosophic worldview. As an avid supporter of philosophy, I do have a decided bias, though.

Anyway, if you followed the link and read the entry, you'd see that I had initially reviewed Avatar quite favourably. I especially appreciated Cameron's enthusiasm for the shaminc worldview. But even though I appreciated it for all those personally meaningful reasons, I also recognize the validity of Zizek's critiques. As with all things, though, your mileage may vary.

Visible said...

These things are relevant to you. they are relevant to what you think and do. The same is not the case with me. I don't care about any of that and if I want to know the answer to or meaning of anything i just ask.

Because these things are relevant to you, you suppose they must be relevant to me. It is as if I must share your values and interests because I cannot be complete without them.

Honestly... none of it interests me. The post wasn't even about Avatar or Hurt Locker but about what must have been going on behind the scenes in relation to the awards and the concerns of the neo-cons that no positive imprimatur be put upon Avatar.

As much as I enjoy movies (for my own reasons) they don't mean that much to me and if I never saw another that would be fine.

I have to deal with words and ideas because of what I do here but once I'm through I'm gone and it won't matter after; to me.

I have found what I was looking for so I don't need to consider theories or teachings or philosophies any longer,all I have to do is go to the sink and turn on the tap (metaphorically speaking).

I don't want this to appear that I think I'm above it all or get to wear the special T-shirt that puts me in a room all by myself. I'm nothing more or less than anyone else. I've just found what I was looking for so I'm not curious about the rest of it or what the rest of it may or may not mean cause it doesn't mean anything really... only the source within and what composes it is of any importance at all; to me.

I'm still learning about this thing I found and forever will be. It's enough to keep me occupied and entertained and I don't need any more.

Anonymous said...

I wonder what Slavoj Žižek might make of this?
Is it possible there are things which are undreamed of, even by the West's best, so to speak?
I've found, at times even the most illustrious thinkers are just that...

Spiritual Seeker: Harry Potter or Hari Putr (Son of Lord Hari) ??

http://seekingbhakti.blogspot.com/2007/10/harry-potter-or-hari-putr-son-of-lord.html

Anonymous said...

Better yet, paste this below into Google if you want a philosophy class...
(even Harry would be entertained)

The Vedic Roots of Modern Cultural Phenomena Part I: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's ...

Khephra said...

"I'm still learning about this thing I found and forever will be. It's enough to keep me occupied and entertained and I don't need any more."

Well, we obviously share an interest in epistemology, then. However, it seems as though you're content with filtering your experience through your own eyes whereas I'm interested in epistemic validity. I have found that I cannot always trust my sense of epistemic truth, and that I benefit from being skeptical of my beliefs and prejudices.

But it appears as though we have a greater divergence of appreciation for philosophy - unless I've misunderstood, anyway. How about more explicitly substantive films like, "Waking Life" or "El Topo"? Do these films conflict with your philosophic sensibilities?

In your review you cite the ideologic undertones of 'Hurt Locker'. That being the case, you obviously recognize such undercurrents exist and are worthy of attention. But it seems as though you're suggesting that you have the clarity of vision and intellect necessary to interpret all ideologic undercurrents without referring to anyone else. That, unless I've misread, seems like a rather solipsistic position.

As you cavalierly dismissed, 'this stuff is important to me'. It may be that we have no relevant and tangible commonalities outside of 'Avatar', but I try to err on the side of community nonetheless.

Visible said...

Khephra;

You are not getting what I am trying to say and I believe I am being fairly clear. Also, oblique insults (solipsistic) are still insults (grin)

". I have found that I cannot always trust my sense of epistemic truth, and that I benefit from being skeptical of my beliefs and prejudices."

I doubt myself at all times. I never doubt what guides and instructs me. I also believe in myself because a certain level of confidence is imperative.

Waking Life was okay but think El Topo is pretentious crap. I didn't when I first saw it but I was pretty callow at the time. Holy Mountain was even worse. Subjective of course...

"But it seems as though you're suggesting that you have the clarity of vision and intellect necessary to interpret all ideological ////( I altered ideologic for you... I hope that's okay)//// undercurrents without referring to anyone else. That, unless I've misread, seems like a rather solipsistic position.
"

Here's the problem I am not interpreting these things, these undercurrents for others. I am interpreting them for myself. We are not discussing my expressions toward others. We are talking about how I perceive critiques in terms of value, necessity and the life for MYSELF.

You're confusing the subjective with the objective.

I don't care what someone else thinks about certain (or any) music, movies or art. It's different for everyone. I have zero interest in stimulating arguments and intellectual posturing as well as late night dormitory bullshit sessions about what anything does or does not mean. I'm not interested in debating anything with anyone. I share my experiences and my thoughts with others in this manner and they are free to accept or reject any of it. I don't care either way.

People are welcome to comment as they wish and even those who are highly appreciative of what I do occasionally must scratch their heads and say, WTF?

I am a work in progress but that work is being handled by a particular agency. I am 'consciously' in the hands of something and it is shaping me. This is all that concerns me.

That review might be entertaining. I am sure whatever you had to say was too and if you'd posted it in the comments section I would have probably read it. To be honest, I don't read most of what people suggest or recommend because I don't have the time. I do have the time but I prefer navel gazing. I prioritize.

It's true I don't think that 99.99999 percent of what anyone says is useful or worth contemplation but that is in respect of myself; not others... nor do I have an opinion on what others are interested in except insofar as it does or does not interest me and only that.

Visible said...

Khephra;

You are not getting what I am trying to say and I believe I am being fairly clear. Also, oblique insults (solipsistic) are still insults (grin)

". I have found that I cannot always trust my sense of epistemic truth, and that I benefit from being skeptical of my beliefs and prejudices."

I doubt myself at all times. I never doubt what guides and instructs me. I also believe in myself because a certain level of confidence is imperative.

Waking Life was okay but think El Topo is pretentious crap. I didn't when I first saw it but I was pretty callow at the time. Holy Mountain was even worse. Subjective of course...

"But it seems as though you're suggesting that you have the clarity of vision and intellect necessary to interpret all ideological ////( I altered ideologic for you... I hope that's okay)//// undercurrents without referring to anyone else. That, unless I've misread, seems like a rather solipsistic position.
"

Here's the problem I am not interpreting these things, these undercurrents for others. I am interpreting them for myself. We are not discussing my expressions toward others. We are talking about how I perceive critiques in terms of value, necessity and the life for MYSELF.

You're confusing the subjective with the objective.

I don't care what someone else thinks about certain (or any) music, movies or art. It's different for everyone. I have zero interest in stimulating arguments and intellectual posturing as well as late night dormitory bullshit sessions about what anything does or does not mean. I'm not interested in debating anything with anyone. I share my experiences and my thoughts with others in this manner and they are free to accept or reject any of it. I don't care either way.

People are welcome to comment as they wish and even those who are highly appreciative of what I do occasionally must scratch their heads and say, WTF?

I am a work in progress but that work is being handled by a particular agency. I am 'consciously' in the hands of something and it is shaping me. This is all that concerns me.

That review might be entertaining. I am sure whatever you had to say was too and if you'd posted it in the comments section I would have probably read it. To be honest, I don't read most of what people suggest or recommend because I don't have the time. I do have the time but I prefer navel gazing. I prioritize.

It's true I don't think that 99.99999 percent of what anyone says is useful or worth contemplation but that is in respect of myself; not others... nor do I have an opinion on what others are interested in except insofar as it does or does not interest me and only that.

Visible said...

I'm not sure what I have been trying to say will find it's way across to you because, from what I can see, you operate from an intellectual level. I do not. I respect intellect. It has its uses as a tool. I do not rely on it to shape my beliefs and values or to parse metaphysical truths. Intellect must be left outside the door for these things because it tends to hinder sound judgment.

I just don't have much use for much of anything. I have found what is useful and important to me and it is a very, very few things. I'm not curious about much of anything in this world. This is not my area of interest. The realm of the divine; the Devi Realm and related locations interest me.

Nothing from this plane can define or interpret what goes on at planes above even though there are marked similarities. it's foolish to use the terms and definitions of this realm to treat with more rarefied planes. one must journey there and that is possible because I- and others- have done so.

I hope somewhere in all of this some idea of what I mean may find its way through because I can't go on any longer (grin).

I don't take myself seriously and praise and blame have pretty much the same impact which is little or none. I do pay a little more attention to blame because I might learn something.

Anonymous said...

You are an excellent writer and I enjoy your work!

To the poster who spammed
Nassim Haramein - I'd just like to point out that guy is a fraud:

http://www.sciencefile.org/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1251881447/0

Better Built Craftsman LLC said...

It is so wonderful to read you again, Les.

I was going to comment re: Fox News. I was married for 15 years to a hard working man who paid to "formally educate" me.

Then Fox news came around. The next thing I knew was I was being screamed at nightly ala Bill O'Really/Sean Hannity style smackdown:

SHUT UP YOU AMERICA HATER!!!! JUST SHUT UP!

YOU'VE BEEN BRAINWASHED BY YOUR LIBERAL ELITE PROFESSORS!!

I studied Geology (sponsored by Chevron, now with Techroline) at CSUB, neither of which could be described as a bastion of liberal bent.

It was really weird to watch someone I knew so well turn into someone else. I begged him to turn it off.

Now, when I talk to him across the 2000 miles that separate us, I know exactly what the topic du jour is on Fox: it's whatever he's changed his opinion to this week. It's really fucking weird.

My point is you can't talk to these people. It's scary. And it's pointless.

Visible said...

People are getting pretty slick with their advertising scams. Somebody just made a comment about the two movies and said you could watch both of them at a certain location. the link turned out to be a major site without direct connection to the films though, probably, they are available.

I don't do advertising,especially not free advertising. I advertise some of my sites should anyone want to order music or whathaveyou and that's very low key. I don't allow advertising for religions either.

The divine picks up the bills here and pays my salary. Of course I'm not getting rich but I've got a roof and some beans and rice and vegetables. I'm even on the internet! When what I do isn't worth the invisible funding any more it will disappear. That's all there is to all of it.

Visible said...

There is a new Visible Origami up-






Sailing into the Kingdom on a Magic Carpet of Sound.





BOOKS, MUSIC, VIDEO


FEATURED READ-

Joseph Brenner




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'The Miracle of Love' from the Les Visible Album
The Sacred and The Profane



Visit the Blog Music Page
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(purchase is always appreciated but entirely optional)





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A classic Visible post:



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