You Have The "Right" To Shut Up
I have watched 'V for Vendetta'. Good movie. Not an artiste film, but good for a 'flick'. Never heard of the book before (that's an ignorance I'm willing to admit), so I wasn't really burdened by trying to find minute discrepancies between the movie and the book. Also, I think a movie, is a movie, is a movie. Just watch the movie, and have your opinion based on that. Who cares what the book really said? I can only hold an artist accountable (hold an artist accountable? doesn't look right to me, but will do...also I'm saying artist in the instance with a huge grain of salt!), I said I can hold him accountable for what he/she said. Period. Also, drop the ideological paranoia. The more ideological your interpretation is, the more you seem, well, an ideologist!
But back to conservatives. The pundits among them especially. They seem to have a general tendency to be well, what should I say, angry! There are always huge chips on their shoulders. They don't 'criticize', they 'attack'; they don't 'debunk', they 'annihilate' (if you don't believe me, wait for the responses to this post!). Well, good for them! The more dangerous neo-cons aside, they all remind me of children playing sims. 'I'm sitting on my lazy-boy, too, you guessed it, lazy to lift a finger, but I'm just gonna sit here and write incredibly angry blogs, about how the evil, immoral, godless left is trying to destroy our way of living through it's evil arm in Hollywood, with movies like the 'Passion of Christ', and 'The Matrix'...after that let's pop-in a dvd, and check that new flick"
Gimme a break! Hollywood is an insult to 'Cinema', but not to the right-wing!
As I was waiting for 'V' to start, a trailer for a movie called 'The Great Raid' came up. I turned to the guy next to me, and said 'How much would you wanna bet that these words will be said in the next 30 seconds: honour, pride, freedom, courage..." Before I even finished, the narrator started with his deep voice "They were men of honour, they were on a mission, a mission to secure our freedom...a mission to restore our pride"...or some shit like that!
If I got a penny for every Hollywood movie that romanticized war, spread pseudo-nationalistic sentiments, or tried to sneak quasi-religious morality behind our backs, I would be partying with Ahnuld in some Republican party fundraiser.
Tags:
posted by TB at
11:15 AM
17 Comments:
{Also, I think a movie, is a movie, is a movie. Just watch the movie, and have your opinion based on that. Who cares what the book really said?}
Many movies can be atrocious to the original books, I think this is a given fact by now. I tried to explain the concept of idolatry in Islam in this light, and this is why I support the non-depiction of the Prophet...the point is some great works of art are better left to the imagination and personal interpretation than standardizing them "to the masses" in a poor work of art that will do it a diservice...to the readers before it will do so to the work itself.
I haven't read Sam's rant yet, and like you I haven't before heard of the book or even the movie, but I can see his point if this is what he is talking about.
The Davinci Code should be released in theatres soon and if you haven't read the book yet I recommend that you do...I was already disappointed by a 20 second promotional clip that I have seen of the film.
By
Seneferu, at
May 07, 2006 7:49 PM
I'm a conservative and I didn't appreciate the film. But that is Hollywood. What can you do?
Your characterization of conservatives as all being angry is a bit silly. I mean, why not check out an American left-wing blog like the Daily Kos, the Liberal Avenger or the Democratic Underground?
There you will get to know people who are truly angry (not to mention chronically conspiratorial and paranoid). These are people who's tactics consist of nothing beyond ad hominem attacks, innuendo, and extreme hyperbole.
By the way, I think if you take a look at who general takes more of an interest in reform-minded Muslims, the status of women in the Middle East, and other civil and humanitarian concerns in that part of the world, it is generally conservatives. Not the leftists you seem to admire.
Today, all over the conservative blogs we heard about the brutal manner in which journalist Atwar Bahjat was murdered. Several conservative blogs today also featured the story of the detention of Alaa Abd El-Fatah, other bloggers and judicial activists and
By contrast, the left-wing blogs didn't report either of these stories. Neither story recieved much attention from the (generally left-wing) mainstream media.
It isn't the conservatives who are your enemies. It is the "progressives" in the West. They don't care about your kind.
They never have.
Have a good one, Tomanbay. Take care.
By
Anonymous, at
May 08, 2006 6:38 AM
{It isn't the conservatives who are your enemies. It is the "progressives" in the West. They don't care about your kind.}
As I said, you seem to have a tendcy to be, how can I put it in a good way?,...well, you have the tendency to be angry. And use really serious words also: progreesives are your 'enemies', and they don't care about 'your kind'...goes to prove my point..
but again, I reread my whole post to see where did Igive the impression that I 'admire' your left...I didnt see any. What I found out, is that I was as critical of hollywood as you are (albeit for different reasons; your reasons are that they're leftist, my reason is that they're silly, and condescending)
Sir, culture and ideology were never a two way street. (i.e. because I dont like conservatives, that doesn't mean that I'm a leftist). As far as I am concerned, and as you rightly pointed out, liberals in America seem to have no foreign policy positions, or even interests. For a country like the US, this can be as harmful as Bush imperialist policies.
Plus, they ain't got balls!!
By
TB, at
May 08, 2006 10:02 AM
Actually, I have not read the book, but I am about as non-conservative as they come and I usually hate movies based on books taht I am really attached to. (For example I am a Lord of the Rings diehard and absolutely have hated everything ever made based on it including all the cartoons and the Peter Jackson movies just because they weren't true to the book in hundreds of ways - and I know it would be unrealistic to assume that they could be, the book's too long - but I still hate them). Being a book lover to the obsessive extent some of us are, just means that hating the movie sort of goes with the territory.
I usually am 180 degrees away from Sand Monkey on political issues (though occasionally he provides really good commentary on Egyptian affairs like voting and the recent sectarian problems) but I have to feel some sympathy with him here as a fellow "book lover/movie trasher."
By
Anna in PDX, at
May 08, 2006 10:57 AM
there seems to be a bit of misunderstanding here...as with most other issues..this shouldn't be about taking sides...
meaning: the fact that a movie is inspired by a book, doesnt hold the movie responsible to be entirley faithful to the book. the book is just a starting point, the screenwriter/director have liberty to twist the film as he/she sees fit. what comes out is just a movie that should be judged on its own merits.
The movie can turn out shitty, for different reasons, but not because of its deviation from the book...
Also, as a general observation, books are almost always greater than movies based on them (more details, more personal experience, and more freedom for your imagination to deduct meanings)...but some movie are more inspirational than most books...so the "book lover/movie trasher" bit is new to me!
By
TB, at
May 08, 2006 11:23 AM
Tomanbay, Yes, intellectually I totally understand that. But emotionally, I am attached to books, and when movies based on them do something wildly different it makes me really angry. this is probably stupid, and I would not blog about it (unlike Sandmonkey) but it is one of those knee-jerk reactions. Just another stupid example. When I was a kid I loved the kids' book A Little Princess. The kid in the book has dark hair and green eyes and is *not* supposed to be pretty. This is kind of described over and over again. The Afterschool Special type movie that was made several years ago based on this novel made the kid into a cute blond. I was so mad! I literally could not watch the movie all the way through. It just seemed wrong on a very basic level. Is this rational? No. A book lover is not always rational. So that was why I felt a bit of sympathy for Sand Monkey's emotional reaction to the movie of V for Vendetta.
Also, I have to say that I have seldom met Egyptians who are more into books than movies. It's rare to find an Egyptian who really loves books (fiction) to the extent that someone like me does. Conversely, Egyptians can be really fanatical about films or TV shows or that kind of thing. Sometimes when I am trying to discuss how much I loved a book with an Egyptian he gets a look on his face like "does not compute." Perhaps it is just impossible to explain, but do try to empathize! Just pretend I am talking about a movie!
By
Anna in PDX, at
May 08, 2006 11:53 AM
OK. Tomanbay.
First, I certainly was not angry writing the post. I think you take words like 'enemies' a little too seriously. Relax.
The general impression your post gives me is that you don't like conservatives in the United States. That is fine. You use Ann Coulter, one of the most angry, aggressive, cynical, and atypical conservatives as an example for what most conservatives are really like.
You also seem to praise Hollywood, with the exception of how they depict war. (Everybody agrees that Hollywood usually does a piss-poor job depicting war.) Given the fact that Hollywood tends to be very liberal and your support for 'V for Vendetta' I might have read too much into your intentions.
By
Anonymous, at
May 08, 2006 3:21 PM
Thanks for the very civil response. I see where you got the impression from. But let me assure you that I find it really hard to 'praise Hollywood', and especially for its war movies. I wouldn't deny that there are some movies which I respect which camme out of there (American History X, Pleasentville(yeah, can you believe that), The Cradle will Rock (which is very liberal by the way!), to name a few), but in general I think American movies are a bit 'simple', and flattend (one-dimensional), so I haven't got a lot of respect for that.
By
TB, at
May 08, 2006 3:30 PM
{Also, as a general observation, books are almost always greater than movies based on them (more details, more personal experience, and more freedom for your imagination to deduct meanings)...but some movie are more inspirational than most books...so the "book lover/movie trasher" bit is new to me!}
Whatever you say Tomanbay:-D
And by the way, it's very liberal of you to tell someone to "shut up" for giving a review to a work he admires.
By
Seneferu, at
May 08, 2006 7:26 PM
oh, oh...now I have to deal with the girlfriend!
By
TB, at
May 08, 2006 8:17 PM
Very objective of you, Toman:-D
By
Seneferu, at
May 08, 2006 9:11 PM
Tommy,
Conservatives (a euphemism for religious fascists by today's definition of a conservative in the us) wouldn't have cared less about Alaa etc if they weren't in a moslem arab country, to them it's another opportunity to show how horrible those countries are, in fact I'm sure they'd prefer Alaa to be killed than imprisoned, because then they can voice louder fake outrage, so please, let's not get carried away here by pretending that conservatives really care about Alaa or about human rights or the lives of the people in the middle east (you can go and ask the Nicaraguans and Salvadorans and Chilean and Hondurans etc about how the "civil and humanitarian concerns" of the conservatives in the eighties made
their lives one heck of a joy ride), so thank you very much but sorry, our true friends are the liberals not the cons.
By
Anonymous, at
May 08, 2006 11:26 PM
euphemism for religious fascists by today's definition of a conservative
Well, Tomanbay says we conservatives are angry. That is the sort of liberal hyperbole I spoke of in my earlier post by the way.
I'm sure they'd prefer Alaa to be killed than imprisoned
That is nonsense. If anything, Mubarak's regime is, because he has been so much in the American sphere of influence, an embarrassment to this administration and all previous administrations who have supported it. If conservatives didn't care, they would just ignore the issue altogether (as liberal bloggers are currently doing) and focus on easier targets like Ahmadinejad, Hamas, and al-Qaeda.
Nicaraguans and Salvadorans and Chilean and Hondurans ....in the eighties made their lives one heck of a joy ride
Really, Mohamed. Did the liberals in American really raise such an outcry over anything that ever occurred in Latin America? Jimmy Carter certainly didn't have a problem with the Shah of Iran or a whole horde of other dictators during his years in office. In fact, he still seems to tacitly approve of people like Fidel Castro. The same partiality towards autocrats was displayed by Bill Clinton at times as well. At least, conservatives saw a larger and vital struggle between Communism and democracy as the reason for their actions. What excuse do the liberals have?
sorry, our true friends are the liberals not the cons.
They have a funny way of showing it.
I disagree with you but have a nice one, Mohamed.
By
Anonymous, at
May 09, 2006 8:06 AM
An excellent example of the anger of the left in America. Somebody says that Steven Colbert's routine at the White House Correspondant's Dinner wasn't very funny and the leftists go nuts:
http://hotair.com/archives/the-blog/2006/05/09/richard-colbert-wasnt-funny-cohen-surprised-to-find-lefty-bloggers-hate-him/
By
Anonymous, at
May 09, 2006 6:34 PM
He wasn't funny, he was hilarious and brutal.
By
Anonymous, at
May 09, 2006 7:52 PM
p.s.: Actually it was the Left that was against The Passion of the Christ. The Christian Right loved it.
By
Seneferu, at
May 10, 2006 12:03 AM
You use Ann Coulter, one of the most angry, aggressive, cynical, and atypical conservatives as an example for what most conservatives are really like.
Yeah, but you mentioned the Democratic Underground, which is full of crazy people, and are nto a good example of progressives in the US.
By
Anonymous, at
May 11, 2006 4:57 PM
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