the wolf part five

here is the wolf part five - I changed how I do dialogue boxes, mostly because a) it fit the minimalistic style I was going for and b) I suck at making box dialogue clouds.

the wolf part four

the wolf part four:

Letters from Neo-Tokyo:

“Living Fast in a Viral Video World or How Idiocracy Taught Me How to Love the Bomb”

Spoiler: This is a random rant

Far back, in the summer of 2006 a little movie came out called “Idiocracy.”

It was made by Mike Judge who was made famous (or infamous) for his previous work: Beavis & Butthead, King of the Hill and Office Space.

The movie had one simple premise:

Instead of getting smarter in the future, society will get markedly dumber.

Why?

Well, the movie hinges on the premise that smart people have fewer children than dumb people.

The film shows this by illustrating that Nobel scientists are too busy furthering humanity while trailer trash has nothing to do but each chips, watch daytime television, and oh yeah, have lots of sex. So, eventually, say roughly 500 years in the future the world is so dumb that the following occurs:

- Everyone drinks Gatorade instead of water (because it has electrolytes!)
- Nearly all companies have merged into one – one ATM machine called the AT&T, Taco Bell, Goodyear, United States Government cash machine.
- The most popular TV show is called “Ow, My Balls” which consists of a half-hour of a guy getting hit in the balls.
- The Academy Award winning movie is “Ass,” which is just a farting ass for two hours.

What really struck me about Idiocracy were some of the parallels the movie made about society today, and the dystopian one pictured in the future. While I’d like to think that humanity is progressing (and don’t get me wrong, in technology and some levels of science, I think we are), there’s a nagging part of me, pulling at my shirtsleeve that says we’re also regressing.

What, with recent movie trends where films such as “The Queen” or “Last King of Scotland” barely make adequate viewers while other movies such as ‘Norbit,” “Wild Hogs” and yes even “300” (don’t even get me started on why this movie is terrible) do spectacular business. What’s stranger still is that each of these three latter movies took a critical drubbing, and frankly, should have – while they have some redeeming points, for the most part, they are poor facsimiles of better movies.

Which leads to the question why?

Is it the nature of the movie industry where viewers are left with little choice?

Or is it the nature of movie viewers themselves – have movie studios figured out something that critics haven’t – that people aren’t as interested in films that are unsettling, difficult or slower-paced. Do viewers simply want commitment-free, concentration-light entertainment?

I don’t have a concrete answer – but my hunch would be the latter.

I would say that in the past 10 years and probably the next 20, we will begin to see the full impact of the online generation. Arguably, the recent trends in movie viewing might be a bellwether for the coming cultural shift.

Having everything accessible immediately online means people are getting accustomed or attenuated to wanting information now, wanting satisfaction now and wanting entertainment now. In some ways, viral videos kind of reflect our society’s new viewing habits – we want something that entertains us to be immediate – flash bang – that quicktime video better be less that thirty seconds and make me laugh. How can this sort of mentality not make the transition over to other forms of entertainment?

So what does that mean – well, it means that we get “300” instead of “Spartacus.” We get intense visuals, outlandish special effects and overdriven language in favour of setting, tone and dialogue. Instead of “Trading Places” we get “Norbit,” both movies are comedies, but the former trades in cultural satire, razor sharp wit and decent characterization. The other, is simply full of bizarre characterizations as though that is the same thing as being funny. Maybe I’m being judgemental (I probably am), but it’s hard not to notice the shift from movies like “Airplane” which parodied/satirized cultural tropes for comedic effect to movies like “Date Movie” and “Epic Movie” that simply trot out someone dressed as a movie character and have him say “I’m Captain Jack Sparrow” and that’s supposed to be funny.

Well apparently it is; Epic Movie came in number one its first week, so that’s saying something isn’t it?

While Idiocracy’s premise is not a heart-warming one – I mean, who really wants to watch a movie that basically scolds you (or most people in the middle class) for not reading enough, for not caring enough or not volunteering enough – it doesn’t diminish the movie’s potent point.

Perhaps, we are getting culturally dumber and perhaps it’s a product of our over-commercialized and materialistic lifestyles.

The entertainment industry, for better or worse, is like a mirror – it makes its money by reflecting the cultural values we want to see. When movies don’t reflect our interests, they simply don’t do well. With that in mind, there’s a lot invested in the Norbit’s of the world – the popularity of these movies can longer be seen as aberrations, but as growing trend.

It’s a disconcerting thought (at least to me) that these films will be the new language of our cultural exchange. No doubt, Mike Judge is rolling in the inherent irony that his low-brow satire about our low-brow culture didn’t do well.

Like Private Joe Bauers, I fondly want to recall our enterainment of the past - "Reading wasn’t just for fags. And neither was writing. People wrote books and movies. Movies with stories, that made you care about whose ass it was and why it was farting."

Me? I think I’m going watch some classic movies like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Duck Soup and Yojimbo. And how will I watch them? I’ll download them of course.

Other interesting articles:

http://www.slate.com/id/2150627/

http://www.the-declaration.com/index.php?issuedate=2007-03-22&showarticle=1669

the wolf part three

The Further Adventures of Bevan and Keen

Welcome to the Further Adventures of Bevan and Keen, a semi-real take on the lives of two guys living in Calgary, and their demented pet rheseus monkey, Ryan.

Today's episode: "Facebook is another way of saying I love you."

Recent Reviews

Fall Out Boy – Infinity on High

My inner indie cred says I should hate this, nay, it commands that I at least show a passing dislike. I wish I could, but I simply can’t. And this despite hating-on the ever-smirking Pete Wentz and knowing the album is about as deep as a half-empty kiddie pool. I’d like to look at the album, raise my nose and sniff, and then tighten my plaid scarf ever tighter, but I just can’t.

There’s simply no resisting Fall Out Boy’s dark powers, which manifest themselves in soaring choruses that are ridiculously hooky. Like any good pop culture nugget, Infinity on High revels in the nether between high and low-brow. Really who’s keeping score though – all that matters is getting the kids to dance. As I look in the mirror, I’ll tell myself over and over that Fall Out Boy is a guilty pleasure. Then, I’ll open a fresh copy of the latest Hinder record and start to cry.

Crime in Stereo – The Troubled Stateside

I guess this is the third album by this New York group – but the first to move away from a hardcore approach into something more melodic. From what I’ve read, some of their fans were a little dismayed. I’m not sure why since all punk bands become U2 eventually, unless of course, you are U2 and then you try to become more like punk bands – it’s the U2/Punk Band circle of life - it’s tragically beautiful, like a hungry lion leaping on a gazelle in the Serengeti. While it won’t give you ear-boners, The Troubled Stateside is pretty solid for its fist-pumping factor. Combine this with the rarest of animals, “I, Stateside”, a political protest song that actually feels heartfelt and we’ve got a winner here.

Angel Witch – Angel Witch

I have no idea how this found its way into my Ipod, but I’m all the luckier for it. Angel Witch is guitar porno with handlebar mustaches attached. This 1980 release hardly sounds dated, but perhaps that’s because bands like Wolfmother and Early Man are wantonly strip-mining the same mix of power metal and D&D tropes. As opposed to current trends, Metal Witch isn’t about blastbeats and cookie-monster vocals but Bruce Dickensen howls, Sabbath drones and scorching dual solos. It’s totally ridonkulous and about as subtle as a dinner theatre run of Grease, but it’ll put a smile on your face and make you wanna scream like a warlock in the night. That is, if they scream. Maybe they just chant and in that case, Angel Witch will make you wanna chant like a Warlock in the night.

the wolf part two

Here is the next installment: