Oh yes, lets go there. Lets go to the incredible amount of work the script writers of Avatar had to do.
edit from your link:
I have a game, you will love ARIn fact, most of the scenes rely on oddly and unrealistically contrived situations to induce a stressful reaction from the audience.
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009...war-game-ever/
I could have had class. I could have been a contender.
I could have been somebody. Instead of a bum
Which is what I am
I aim at the stars
But sometimes I hit London
Sorry, been out for a while, but I'd like to weigh in on the Oscar choices vis a vis these two films:
#1. I've seen them both and I don't think either one is Best Picture material, based strictly on story. Not sure about best director, as I'm not sure what goes into that job.
#2. I've read that many of the voters behind Oscar choices are actors and that actors don't like CGI films, believing they cheapen or maybe even threaten their trade. That's why none of the excellant Pixar films has ever come close to best picture award. However, IMHO Up was a better film than either Hurt Locker or Avatar.
#3. The premise that the best picture choice has anything to do with love or dislike of war is absurd.However, I will admit I was surprised there was no apparent backlash agaisnt Avatar for being so green and peace-mongerish. Ironically, there was a backlash against one aspect of its simpleton, franken-plot; black folks saying it was demeaning as the great white hope comes to save the backward natives from their own backwardness....
The Rules
Copper- behave toward others to elicit treatment you would like (the manipulative rule)
Gold- treat others how you would like them to treat you (the self regard rule)
Platinum - treat others the way they would like to be treated (the PC rule)
But the natives were'nt black, they were blue - clearly those black folks were being racist.Originally Posted by EyeKhan
Such is Life...
And they didn't come to save them but exploit them
And they were kicked of the planet by beasties.
I could have had class. I could have been a contender.
I could have been somebody. Instead of a bum
Which is what I am
I aim at the stars
But sometimes I hit London
Uh, yeah.But the natives were'nt black, they were blue - clearly those black folks were being racist.
No no no no NO!
The guy that saved them was the crippled marine. He learned their ways and then provided them the leadership they couldn't find in themselves necessary to oppose the exploiters. It's a well worn plot.
The Rules
Copper- behave toward others to elicit treatment you would like (the manipulative rule)
Gold- treat others how you would like them to treat you (the self regard rule)
Platinum - treat others the way they would like to be treated (the PC rule)
Backwardness is relative.#3. The premise that the best picture choice has anything to do with love or dislike of war is absurd.
The soldier was the expert in violence tactics, so it would be hard for native to defeat such expertise.
The backward culture is Earthling's.
He did not save natives from backwardness.
The natives just saved him from living an unnatural life.
Whatever. I'm not interested in interpreting the plot. Fifteen minutes into the film and I could have told you exactly how this thing was going to go. . . . The only question was which main characters would die and which survive. Not particularly original or imaginative when you look strictly at the story.
The Rules
Copper- behave toward others to elicit treatment you would like (the manipulative rule)
Gold- treat others how you would like them to treat you (the self regard rule)
Platinum - treat others the way they would like to be treated (the PC rule)
Well, in that case it means that the Academy is more interested on rewarding failure, just like it happened with banks.
Huh? I don't follow your logic...
The Rules
Copper- behave toward others to elicit treatment you would like (the manipulative rule)
Gold- treat others how you would like them to treat you (the self regard rule)
Platinum - treat others the way they would like to be treated (the PC rule)
AR, you seem to be obsessed with pinning some sort of failure on the Academy. Now, normally I don't have a problem with that, but I think I speak for at least some of us when I say I'm reacting not to the idea in general, which almost all of us have expressed at one time or another, but you're execution. It's like you keep changing your critique about Avatar to things more and more ridiculous, hoping that one of them will accidentally tap into some underlying logic and not be torn apart.
Chaloobi: I actually got wind of the other complaints in local papers over Christmas. But the complaints of the black community did seem to get the most traction. Yes, it's a familiar trope, but there's a reason for that. The films are written for the "colonialists" (read: us) By definition, right (the third worlders aren't writing for other third worlders, since they don't actually make movies)? Hollywood needs exotic locales. Check. Hollywood needs conflict there. Check. Now, colonialist audiences react a lot better to one of their own being a hero and resolving the crisis than they do a "furriner." This is human nature. Consequently, you get a string of movies with some sort of euro-ish hero saving the natives. OK, yeah, I can see it is a somewhat offensive plot. It is also inevitable.
So I guess I see the point, but it just doesn't have traction with me. Especially when, contained in the same movie, are "don't exploit the natives" messages.
Thankfully, the fuss wasn't widespread.
I think the complaint was silly. An example of being hypersensitive, looking for something to be offended about.
The Rules
Copper- behave toward others to elicit treatment you would like (the manipulative rule)
Gold- treat others how you would like them to treat you (the self regard rule)
Platinum - treat others the way they would like to be treated (the PC rule)
Exactly. Like I pointed out, there were counter-balancing colonialist themes. Besides, we're well past the point where it's remotely reasonable to parse every bit of entertainment through the racism meter. I think we need to accept that one can't balance everybody's sensibilities while creating a good story. Uh. Mediocre story? Anyway, skins need to thicken. There are certainly enough movies about the evil white man.
No I understand you now. I expect my opinions to change (somewhat) when I see the movies. I suppose I shouldn't have been so vehement from the start, eh?
Yeah, I had mixed you up with someone else on the last page, so that's my excuse for the "fanboy" bit, and why I went back and edited my post.
Haha for all his on-set screaming Bale didn't seem to get a whole lot done, did he? You're right, Worthington was better, but that's not too great an accolade given the circumstances.
Yeah, it was the vehemence that probably got me uppity.
I was as surprised as anybody with the choice of Worthington (he was surprised too), I have probably seen more of him than the average cinema patron because he is from my home town and made a few local films and tv shows before heading off to Hollywood. I'd rate him as a half-decent character actor, not a leading man and not an action hero. His best role I've seen him in was a local TV series called "Love my way", which was surprisingly good.
Terminator Salvation was a surprisingly good story given the "dead horse"-like flogging the Terminator universe has copped over the years but like all the Terminator movies you are basically waiting for the same outcome (destruction of a terminator) at the end of each film.
*On a slightly related note, I have actually handled the original Terminator components from the first film and they were really quite crappy plastic bits with cheap chrome-plating to make them look metallic.
Such is Life...
The story wasn't very original. So, maybe mediocre isn't the word, but tired?
The Rules
Copper- behave toward others to elicit treatment you would like (the manipulative rule)
Gold- treat others how you would like them to treat you (the self regard rule)
Platinum - treat others the way they would like to be treated (the PC rule)
But this is no fun! I need something to rank on.
Hmm...
Christian Bale and Matthew McConnaHEY in Reign of Fire! Yeah baby! Bad acting critical mass! If you scowl a lot, speak in a really hoarse voice, and have bad facial hair, it's really dramatic!
Yeah, that's closer. Formulaic is the word. No, we've never seen this particular plot before, but we all knew exactly where it was going, didn't we?
Back to AR's fussing about THL not being accurate: In Avatar, it made sense to have native troops that could sneak right up to the enemy and pick their pocket (or cut their throats) engage in a full out Polish cavalry charge against crazy modern weapons, right?
Yeah.
So pretty much verisimilitude is never a real knock on Hollywood. It's Hollywood, and a given. Rationality always takes a back seat to the drama (a.k.a ticket selling power).
In all likelihood they might not have known any better, how many times do you think they have engaged in a massive land battle versus things smaller than them with projectile weapons and mechs in the past?
. . .
Meh, wasn't it implied that there had been some smurf killing before? Not to mention giant bulldozers and weapons capable of destroying their home tree, which was the size of LA.
No, I'd think they'd know that a frontal assault was suicide. Pounding on a bulldozer didn't do much to stop it.
Changes in tactics take time to adopt judging from history. We still had large groups of people charging machine gun nests through WWII.
. . .
Moved to General Chat per some requests. Not 100% sure I agree, but it's not like it couldn't fit in here either.
Well it's too bad AR can't make a real case otherwise the topic sure would have been in its place in D&D
Congratulations America
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